Mermaid's Tear
by vIoLeT bUtTeRfLy 90
Summary: It was supposed to be a mission to capture a mermaid, a being that was thought to be extinct. Now, it was turning into a battle for survival. RiSo, AkuRoku, CloudLeon, SephZack, and other side pairings. Violence, soon to be lemons, yaoi, and some het.
1. Chapter 1

"Capture a mermaid?" Riku Valentine asked his father in disbelief as they waited outside the mansion for their comrades to show up. "Please tell me you're not serious. Why does this guy need a mermaid? They're not even real."

"I don't ask questions about that stuff," Sephiroth said. "He's paying us to go look and capture one if we see it. That's all we need to know."

Riku sighed. "You can't be serious about taking this job, dad. I thought all the mermaids were extinct? There hasn't been a sighting of one in decades. How do we know this old man isn't insane?"

"Riku, silence," Sephiroth ordered. "I asked Axel and Cloud to help us. We might require their assistance for this job." He walked up the steps to the mansion of their client. He didn't know if he should believe the old man that had come up to him a few days ago with a job. The old man was willing to pay them to go on this chase, and he wasn't going to argue if it meant getting paid for nothing.

He heard two motorcycles pull up to the mansion, seeing his comrades, Cloud Strife and Axel Lea. "So, mermaid hunting huh?" Axel said, getting off his motorcycle and pulling off his helmet. "There hasn't been any sightings of them in decades, y'know."

"That's what I said," Riku grumbled.

"Maybe this old man is going crazy," Cloud said calmly. "Either way, we're getting paid to go look and catch one if we see one, which we probably won't." All of them walked to the door of the mansion, Sephiroth knocked on the door and waited.

A young boy with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes opened the door. "Master Xehanort has been waiting for you," he said quietly, almost like he was holding back his anger. He didn't look at any of them and lead them to the living room.

An old man with no hair and yellow eyes was sitting on the sofa, smirking."Welcome, guests," he said, sending a small shiver down Riku's spine. He didn't like this man. Something about him didn't seem right. If the looks that the blonde boy was giving him was anything to go by, this old man was evil.

"We're not here for chit chat," Sephiroth said, getting right down to business.

The old man merely grinned, shaking his head. "I see," he mused. "Go to Destiny Islands, there is a hidden cave there with a door that'll lead to a bigger cave. The mermaids reside there. Catch one for me and bring it here by any means necessary. Stay quiet about this and don't let anyone know about your mission."

"How do we even know these mermaids exist?" Cloud demanded. "For as long as I can remember, there hasn't been any sightings of them. Demons don't even believe in them anymore. They're probably extinct and you're paying us to go on a wild goose chase?"

Xehanort smirked, standing up and signaling them to follow him. "Come see for yourselves," he said, leading them underground. "Do any of you know about mermaids?"

"Not much," Sephiroth admitted.

Axel wasn't listening much as Xehanort started talking about mermaids; too busy looking at the cute blonde boy that was walking with them. He'd always had a thing for blondes, but he loved looking at the boy's blue eyes. They reminded him of the deep blue ocean water. "Hey, blondie, me and you, this Friday?" he asked flirtatiously.

The blonde boy looked at him, clearly confused by what he meant. "What…?"

"Wanna go out on Friday, if you're available. And if you're grandpa here doesn't mind," he said.

The blonde growled, furious. "He's not my grandpa," he snapped. "He's a bastard that's holding me here against my will. The moment I get the chance to kill him, I'm taking it."

Axel was shocked at that. He figured since the boy was living here with the old man that he must've been related to him or something along that line. Now that he noticed it, the blonde boy had been glaring at the old man when he and Sephiroth were talking in the living room. "What's your name, blondie?"

"…Roxas," he answered quietly, looking away.

"Name's Axel," he introduced himself. "Got it memorized?"

Roxas looked at him coolly. "No," he replied, walking ahead of him.

The redhead grinned, looking at Roxas as they walked to a room at the very end of the hall. Xehanort opened the door, revealing a room with a large pool full of salt water from what he was guessing. But all he could look at was the poor being that was tied to a rock with a sack over his head. The being had pale skin on its torso and arms, it obviously a male, and a dull golden fin where his legs should be. "No fucking way…," he whispered. He almost didn't wanna believe it, but it was right there before his eyes. He saw Roxas kneel down at the edge of the pool next to it, asking it if it was okay.

"So you see," Xehanort told them. "They do exist. And I need you four to catch me another one. I would do it myself, but this mermaid…has tendency to attract unwanted attention and many try to take him away. Last time I tried to go, someone broke into the house and almost succeeded in taking him away. That's why I hired you."

"You're…holding him prisoner?" Riku asked, completely in shock at how the mermaid was tied to a rock near the pool. He saw Roxas trying to comfort it.

The old man smiled, but it seemed menacing. "No. This mermaid and I have business. Roxas will accompany you to the cave and he'll be able to bring the mermaids to you. Isn't that right, Roxas?"

Roxas stiffened, glaring daggers at the man. "Go to hell," he growled. "I won't go with them."

"Oh, but you will," Xehanort told him. "Because I can always…kill him if you don't go. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Roxas looked at the mermaid; panic and fear clear in his blue eyes. He sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat. "Fine…," he mumbled.

"Then it's settled. Be here tomorrow morning at ten and Roxas will go with you to Destiny Islands," Xehanort told the four hunters.

All they could was nod and walk out. "This isn't right," Cloud whispered to Sephiroth. "It's not our business to know why he's holding a mermaid hostage or why he wants another one, but it's not right. He must've kidnapped the mermaid and Roxas."

"As you said before, it's not our business," Sephiroth said back, seeing that the old man and blonde boy were still in the room where the mermaid was. He didn't like this at all, but he knew it was risky at the moment to try and help. "He's paying us to just capture a mermaid and bring it back. Let's not get our feelings into this matter."

"But, dad, you can't tell me that you're okay with this crazy old man holding a mermaid captive," Riku snapped. "How is that honorable in any way? We always agreed to capture people who've done wrong and that mermaid hasn't done anything wrong except live. Roxas probably hasn't done anything to deserve this either."

"Enough!" Sephiroth said firmly, looking at his youngest son. "This is one mission we can't question anything on. Clearly the man has his own reasons for wanting a mermaid. They must've done him wrong and he wants justice."

"But he would've told us to catch a specific mermaid," Cloud pointed out. "You have to tell Xemnas about this old man. It's obvious he's holding Roxas captive and most likely that mermaid. Why else would he have its head covered?"

"If we try to tell anyone about this the old man will probably kill the mermaid and Roxas, and escape before anyone can stop him," Sephiroth stated. "We have no choice but to do the mission he paid us to do."

Axel hadn't been listening at all as they walked out of the mansion. All he could think about was that haunting look in Roxas' eyes. The blonde boy probably hadn't realized the look in his eyes, but all Axel saw in his beautiful blue eyes was fear, worry, and anger. The way the boy looked at the mermaid said it all.

_**Rescue me…save me from this hell…**_a voice called out to him. He looked back at the mansion, seeing blonde hair and blue eyes at the window.

"Roxas…," he whispered.

"Axel, let's go," Cloud said. "What's wrong with you?"

He shook his head, looking back at the window and seeing no one there. "Nothing," he said, getting on his motorcycle. "Just my imagination."

A dark figure walked passed them along the sidewalk, the hood covered the person's face. "Don't trust him," a male's voice warned.

"What?" Axel asked the hooded man. "What do you mean? Don't trust who?"

"Don't trust the old man," the hooded man said, stopping to look at them. "If you go, you'll die. Mermaids are not beings to be taken lightly. All those stories you heard about them being gentle and loving creatures, they're lies. A mermaid will seduce anyone that is going after them and drag them to a watery grave. If you four know what's best for you, you won't take this job."

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Sephiroth growled quietly.

If the man's face had been visible, Axel swore he was smirking. "I know exactly who I'm talking to," the hooded man replied. "Four dead men that will drown if they take this mission. Even if you are the One-Winged Angel, Sephiroth. The Dark Prince, Riku. The Great Wolf demon, Cloud. And the Flurry of Dancing Flames, Axel Lea. Even if your four are known to be the best hunters among demons, you won't win against the mermaids."

"What do you know about mermaids?" Riku snapped. "You act like you know everything about them when you probably don't know any more than we do."

The hooded man smirked, letting the four demons see his lower face. "I do know more. Call it personal experience," he said. "A mermaid's kiss will give the receiving person the ability to breathe and speak underwater. They can use their looks alone to seduce anyone. And their singing voices are absolutely haunting. Make sure not to fall for that trick." He walked off before any of them could say anything.

Axel sighed, scratching his head. "You know, with all these warnings and seeing how the old man is in person…I'm thinking I shouldn't have taken this job."

Riku looked at his father, seeing no emotions on his face and sighed irritably. "I fear you're right for once, Axel…"

* * *

><p>Roxas walked back to the pool in the underground level. As much as he didn't want to, he couldn't help but think about Axel. The redhead kept looking at him when Xehanort showed him the truth about mermaids existing. How he wished he had enough strength to get himself free so he could go get help.<p>

"Are you going to tell me who cries the Dark Crystals?" Xehanort asked, bringing him back from his thoughts.

The Dark Crystals…anyone would be more than happy to get their hands on that. It would boost their powers tremendously. That's what Xehanort was after. Unfortunately for him, the mermaid he'd captured didn't cry the Dark Crystals. No…the one who could would never cry. But unknown to Xehanort, there was one other mermaid who could cry something more powerful than a Dark Crystal. "No way," Roxas replied, reaching out to pull the sack off the captive mermaid's head.

A keyblade was suddenly in the way of his hand and he glared at the old man. "Leave it on," Xehanort ordered.

"He's not a thing, he's a living creature!" Roxas shouted. "Keeping him like won't give you any tears. And why keep us here at all? We don't cry the Dark Crystals. Just let us go."

"I can't do that now," Xehanort stated. "If I let you and this beautiful mermaid go, then you will go warn them about me. Then you and the other mermaids will swim far away to the point where I can't find you. I can't let that happen."

Roxas watched him walk away; blinking back his tears at the thought of never being able to return home ever again. "Hold on a little longer," he whispered to the mermaid. He knew the mermaid was missing its mate that had tried to rescue him when he got captured, but it failed. "Just a little longer…"

* * *

><p>"Sora, come on!" Kairi shouted to her friend. They'd been resting on nearby rocks next to the mainland of Destiny Island. She felt sorry for her friend. He'd been searching for his older twin brother and their two friends ever since they went missing. But sadly, none of them were allowed on dry land unless Sora's cousin, Leon, or their friend, Zack was with them. She wasn't really good at walking on two legs unlike them and neither was Sora. All they could do was wait and hope that one day their friends would return.<p>

Sora frowned, swimming back into the ocean with her to their home. "I wish I could go on dry land and look for them," he said. "How come we can't practice walking with our human legs? Leon and Zack do it all the time. It's not fair."

"Sora, you know we can't after what happened," Kairi said gently. "We lost your brother and our friends. We can't risk losing any more people to the outside world."

"But my brother could barely walk with his human legs!" Sora shouted. "For all I know, he's dead or being held prisoner for his tears!"

"Sheesh, could you be any louder, Sora?" Xion said, swimming up to them. "People a mile away could probably hear you."

The brown-haired mermaid sighed. "Sorry, I'm just worried," he said. "It's been months since they went missing. I miss my brother and our friends."

"We do too, Sora," Kairi said. "But all we can do right now is hope they make it back safely. Zack and Leon can only patrol around the area. I'm sure one day, Lord Angeal will allow us to go out there and find them. We just have to be patient until then."

"I hope so…," Sora mumbled. "I hate not being able to do anything to help."

"We all do," Xion agreed. "But we can't do anything just yet."

All of them swam to their kingdom, seeing other mermaids swimming around the area. They had been living in the Destiny Island area for a long time due to the tropical climate and that it was rarely very cold. However, unlike their aquatic friends, they needed sleep much like humans and other demons that didn't live underwater.

"Angeal, you can't be serious!" They heard shouting coming from the outside of the kingdom. Zack Fair was floating alongside their lord, Angeal Hewley. Angeal had straight black hair that went to his shoulders, a very muscular torso, and a long thick black fin whereas Zack has spiky black, a well-defined torso, and long black fin. A lot of people thought they were brothers, but they were cousins. Angeal had been chosen for the leader of the mermaids due to his experiences in fighting wars alongside the humans and demons, and being very wise. Xion was Zack's younger sister and she had the same black fin as her older brother. "Leon and I can go save them. Just give us a chance. They've been missing for months and they could be dead, or dying, for all we know."

"We can't risk sending our two best warriors out," Angeal said calmly. "You and Leon are our best warriors on both land and water. Sora's brother was our third best fighter on both terrains, but he's gone now. If more of those demons come after us, we'll be defenseless on land. Sora and the others can only defend us underwater."

"He's getting better," Zack told him. "If you would let me or Leon train him and the others on land, they could quickly become great warriors."

"Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time," Angeal replied. "That man is going to come after us again and this time, he'll most likely be bringing help. We can't afford to lose the one that cries the Tears of Orichalcum. We've already lost the one that cries the Tears of Dark Crystals. All of the young ones are to remain here and be ready for any underwater attacks."

Zack frowned. "Sora is going to go look for his brother, with or without your permission. Leon will go with him because he's his cousin. Kairi and Xion will go him because Sora is their friend. You can't hold them back forever."

"I may not be able to control them, but I can try," Angeal said wearily. "Our people's numbers are already so little, Zack. We're on the border of extinction. Our tears are what make us targets for a person's greed. If they find the one that cries the Tears of Orichalcum…I don't even want to think about it."

"And that's why we're trained and raised from our birth not to cry," Zack pointed out. "Even when one of us dies or goes missing, we don't cry. Please Angeal, you have to let us try to find them. None of us could live if something happened to any of them."

"I'm sorry, Zack. But I can't allow any of you to go to the mainland," Angeal apologized. "Please understand…"

Sora and the others were hiding behind some coral, listening to them. He couldn't believe that even Zack wasn't able to change Angeal's mind. Usually he was able to talk the bigger merman into anything, but it seemed Angeal was not going to relent this time. "But I need to find my brother," Sora said quietly, mostly to himself.

"Sorry, Sora," Xion said, patting his shoulder. "We'll find a way."

"Yeah, we'll find a way to get out and go look for your brother and our friends," Kairi agreed. "Let's go home and rest for now. We'll figure all of this out tomorrow."

Sora nodded, watching his two friends swim off and swam to his home. He saw his cousin, Leon already there. His cousin had layered dark brown hair that went down a little passed his shoulders and had steel gray eyes and a fin that was the same color. He had a scar in between his eyes that he'd gotten from an outsider that lived on the mainland of Destiny Island. "Hey," Leon greeted.

"Hey," Sora said back. "What were you up to today?"

Leon sighed. "…Four demons are going to be after us tomorrow."

"What? What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"I was walking around the town on the mainland today and heard that the man who was here last time has hired four men to capture one of us," Leon explained. "We have to be prepared in case this is more than just a regular attack on us."

"So what are we going to do?" Sora asked. "It's not like Angeal will allow you and Zack to go to the mainland and try to stop this. You two are our best warriors."

Leon sighed, rubbing in between his eyes. "I don't know," he admitted. "We have no other choice than to…"

"No!" Sora shouted. "You can't kill them! Maybe if you try to talk to them about-"

"If they're coming after us then they must be getting paid big money," Leon interrupted. "We can't afford to try and question them on why they're after us or convince not to do this mission that they've been paid to do."

"But we can't just kill them…," Sora whispered. That was one thing that most people said made him weak. He didn't like hurting others and hated the idea of using violence to solve problems. Everyone said that is what would stop him from becoming a great warrior like Leon and his brother.

"We might not have a choice," Leon told him. "If they back off, then they live. But if they continue with their mission to capture one of us, then we'll have to kill them. Everyone on the outside world think we're extinct, but I'm sure there those few that have seen us and know about us."

Sora didn't say anything after that, swimming to his room. He hated that Leon would have to actually kill somebody just to keep them safe. That's what their lives had become. Their people had been hunted for their tears by humans and demons alike. A mermaid's tears would turn into a gem or some kind of precious stone that made them targets. His parents had been taken away from him by humans and they were now dead. Sora remembered following Leon and the others that day when they reached another island and he saw his parents for himself…

He shook his head at the memory. "Now is not the time to think about that," he told himself. "Rest now, think later." With that said he made himself comfortable on his clamshell bed and closed the top half of it. "We'll find you, brother and my friends. I'm not going to let anyone stop me…"

* * *

><p>Okay, another KH story from me! How do you like it so far? Good? Bad? Let me know please.:)<p>

I was actually trying to write the next chapter of my other KH story, but this came in mind instead so yeah. Hope it's a good start and hopefully I can get the next chapter done soon. I got inspiration to write this from watching Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I LOVE the mermaids on there! They're not the fantasy that most people have gotten from the Little Mermaid. Those mermaids lived up to the real legends of them bringing sailors to their doom.

No beta for this story. But if you need a beta, I definitely recommend Ultima Phoenix! S/he is a good beta!

Anyways! I think I'm actually gonna have fun writing this. So yeah! Like it? Hate it? Let me know please so I know what to improve on! Thank ye and hopefully next chapter comes out soon!


	2. Chapter 2

"You realize that this could just be a trap, right?" Axel asked as they were loading their supplies to go to the small island just outside the mainland. They had picked up Roxas from Xehanort's mansion to bring him along since the old man said the blonde boy would be of great help. Because of the limited space in the car, since they had only taken Sephiroth's car, Roxas had no choice but to sit in between Axel and Riku. Axel had tried to put his arm around the smaller boy and talk to him, but only got hissed at and punched in the stomach for his efforts. And right now he was just sitting at the edge of the pier, looking out into the ocean.

Riku sighed at his friend, Axel. "Not now. We have to capture one and bring it to him," he said. "I've never seen a mermaid. Have you?"

Axel shook his head. "Nope, never seen much water demons. And plus, it's against my element. Fire demon here."

"Right. The one that man has doesn't react much. But then it's bound to a stone in the pool," Riku said, remembering the mermaid that was imprisoned. They hadn't been able to see the face of it since Xehanort kept its head covered. But he could guess that Roxas must've spent a lot of time with it since he knew about the mermaids' location and how they acted.

"Focus," Sephiroth ordered. "We have to a mermaid to capture. Strife, do we have all the tools necessary?"

Cloud nodded, looking over at Roxas, who was still sitting at the end of the pier and looking at the water. No one knew much about the young blonde boy. He refused to speak to any of them, having smacked Axel when he tried to talk to him. The only person, or thing, Roxas showed any response to was that mermaid that was floating around in their client's aquarium, and Xehanort, who seemed to receive a never ending glare. "Let's go, Roxas."

The blonde boy flinched when he heard his name, shifting uncomfortably. "Okay," he said quietly. He stood up and walked to the boat that they were taking to the small island. He made sure to avoid all of the hunters, sitting at the very front of the boat.

"Hey," Axel said from behind him. The redhead made himself comfortable sitting next to him, ignoring how the blonde stiffened. "Why are you sitting up here by yourself?"

"None of your business," Roxas snapped.

Axel frowned. "You know, none of us want to do this. Why is Xehanort holding you and the mermaid captive?"

Roxas looked at him, shocked that the redheaded demon admitted to all of them not wanting to do this. "Then, why did you take this mission if you don't want to?" he asked nervously.

The fire demon shrugged. "I took it because Sephiroth asked me," he replied. "But after meeting the old man and getting warnings from some stranger…I'm thinking we should've refused. Why does he want a mermaid anyways? Anything special about them that we should know about?"

The blonde bit at his lower lips, wondering if he should tell Axel anything. He admitted to not wanting to take the mission after meeting Xehanort, but he still took it. "Nothing," Roxas told him.

"Look, we want to help, but will it put your life at risk?" Axel asked.

Roxas glared at him. "If you really wanted to help, you would've helped. Not stand by like a coward and do something that you don't like. You're just after the money that you'll receive for this mission," Roxas hissed. "Don't talk to me." He looked away from the fire demon, looking out into the ocean. It always calmed him and it had been a while since he was able to even go outside. So being able to hear, see, and smell the ocean was very refreshing for him.

Riku saw Axel walk back over to them and noted the defeated look on his face. "Turned you down again?" he asked with a smirk.

Axel shook his head, scratching at his hair. "Nah," he answered. "Do you think we're doing the right thing, Riku? I mean capture a mermaid so this guy can use them for whatever reason? Something doesn't seem right. We should've gone to Xemnas and reported this man."

"If we'd tried to help, Xehanort would've killed them and escape before help could come," Riku pointed out. "We'll figure something out later. Right now, we do this mission and we'll think about how to save them."

"Are we really going to capture one?" he asked. "Are we really going to make another one suffer?"

"We have no choice," Sephiroth said calmly, looking at the two of them. "Now stop fooling around and get going. We're here." All of them got off the boat as soon as they pulled up to the small pier on the island. "Now where is this cave?"

"Over here," Roxas mumbled, leading them to the hidden cave that hiding behind the waterfall to hidden cave. All around the walls were covered with drawings that looked like something that kids drew with rocks or chalk. He led them to a door that was in the cave and opened it, revealing another hidden cave that was filled with water. A large canoe was floating near the small area of dry land near the entrance. "This cave is the Mermaid Cave. Most, if not all, live here." He sat at the very front of the canoe as the hunters put all their equipment onboard.

"How do you know all this?" Riku asked as he used the oar to row the canoe. He was at the very back while Cloud and Sephiroth in the middle with Axel sitting near the front and next to Roxas. "You don't look like the type to be reading about mermaids."

Roxas stiffened more, clutching the pendant on his necklace. "…I just know. That's why Xehanort captured me." He remembered that day very clearly. "But all of you will die."

"Excuse me?" Riku asked as though he were insulted at that. He was a demon that was feared among the world and this…_human_ thought they were gonna die from trying to capture a mermaid. "None of us are gonna die from trying to capture a mere mermaid."

He saw the blonde boy smile, almost as if he was laughing. "That's what you think. Mermaids are not the gentle creatures you all think they are. They're cunning and seductive creatures who can use their voices to trick anyone."

Axel snorted. "Yeah right. This will be a piece of cake. Just one mermaid won't be a problem for all of us."

_Just keep thinking that…_Roxas thought to himself.

"Isn't there something that needs to be done, boy?" Sephiroth asked him.

Roxas nodded, stiffening even more if possible. "Yes…singing the song," he replied. "They won't come unless we sing a song."

"A song?" Riku asked. "Why sing?"

"Because mermaids love to sing," Roxas answered, smiling. "It brings them joy, happiness, and peace. It calms them and it will draw them here."

"So sing," Sephiroth ordered, staring at the boy. "Bring them here so we can capture one."

Roxas looked into the water of the cave, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head. He hoped that none of the mermaids would answer the call. "I…I don't want to."

Sephiroth sighed, pulling out his sword and aimed it near his throat. "You will sing, or I will cut your limbs off until you do so. And they will be things you miss."

Roxas closed his eyes, holding back his tears. "Please don't come here," he whispered, and began singing the song that would bring the mermaids to them.

_In you and I, there's a new land_

_Angels in flight…_

All of them jumped when they heard something in the cave sing.

_**I need more affection than you know**_

Roxas silently prayed that none of them would come and continued singing only for the sake of saving the mermaid that was waiting for them back at the mansion.

_A sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah_

_Where fears and lies melt away_

_Music inside…_

"_I need more affection than you,"_ an enchanting voice sang.

They all turned around, seeing someone floating in the water. "What the…?" Axel said.

There, at the end of the boat near Roxas, was a mermaid. But instead of it being a female, it was a male mermaid. It had brown that was to its shoulders and in layers. It had blue-gray eyes, slightly tanned skin, and a scar in between its eyes. The mermaid looked at Roxas then looked at them.

"Get it!" Axel shouted, grabbing the net and trying to get to the mermaid.

Riku and Cloud grabbed him and held him back. "Don't!" Cloud ordered. "You'll scare it off." The mermaid had already backed away, staring at them suspiciously. He had to admit that the mermaid was pretty for a guy. It's haunting blue-gray eyes were beautiful along with the scar that seemed to give a harshness but still seemed approachable. But then, maybe all mermaids looked like that.

The mermaid swam back to the boat, resting its arms on the edge and looked at him. "Are you the one that sings?" the merman asked.

Cloud shook his head. "Sorry, but no," he replied, shifting closer to the mermaid. All he had to do was grab it and bring it aboard the boat. It wouldn't be able to get away once it was out of water.

The mermaid looked at Roxas again then back at him. "You're handsome," the mermaid said.

He couldn't help but blush at that. Sure he'd been complimented on his looks but coming from a really beautiful creature like this…he couldn't help it. "Thank you."

Sephiroth was getting impatient. It seemed Cloud was getting enchanted by the creature and it was getting ready to seduce him. "Strife." The man didn't seem to be listening to him, too busy looking at the creature.

Just when Cloud was about to respond to Sephiroth to assure that he was okay and not being seduced. The mermaid began singing.

_I watch you_

_Fast asleep_

_All I fear means nothing…_

Roxas looked away, singing the next lines. He could feel Axel's gaze on him. He didn't know why the redhead looked at him like that and it was starting to get unnerving.

_In you and I there's a new land_

_Angels in flight…_

More voices around the cave sang as more mermaids emerged from the dark waters. One male with black spiky hair and blue eyes swam to the side of the boat where Sephiroth was, looking at him curiously. Sephiroth had to admit that the mermaids did a good job of looking innocent and sweet. The black-haired male mermaid blinked, swimming a little closer to the boat.

An auburn-haired female mermaid emerged from the side next to Cloud, smiling sweetly and singing along with the brown-haired mermaid. Another female popped up near the end of the boat near Riku. She had short black hair with pretty blue eyes and looked at him innocently.

Near the back of the cave, Sora watched nervously as his friends surrounded the boat. He hoped Leon knew what he was doing. He'd never seen Leon look at anyone the way he was looking at the blonde man. Sora looked at all the other people on the boat. One redhead, two men with silver hair, a person wearing a jacket with the hood over their head that hid their face, and the blonde man that Leon was seducing. Sora didn't want to kill anyone. He'd never had it in him like his twin more violent brother.

Leon didn't want to do this. But it was either save themselves and their people and kill these men, or risk getting captured. He had hoped they would get scared and run off. But something about their scent threw him off. They didn't smell human so they had to be demons. He kept singing to the man, cupping his face with both hands. It was only a matter of time now…

Cloud wasn't thinking. If he had been, he would've known better than to try and kiss a mermaid. He was just about to until…

A bright light suddenly lit up the cave and he saw Xehanort there, smirking with a bunch of demons with black bodies and glowing yellow eyes behind him. "Get them," he ordered the Heartless. All of the demonic creatures started running into the water towards the boat where most of the mermaids were.

All of the mermaids dunked back into the water, swimming away. "Where's Sora?" Leon asked as they swam away to safety.

"I don't know," Kairi answered. "He refused to join in so he must be safe. What are we gonna do, Leon? We won't be able to outrun them."

"Get to safety, Zack and I will hold them off," Leon ordered, swimming to the dry area where he and Zack kept their weapons and clothes. He threw Zack's weapon to him and grabbed his gunblade, slicing at one of the dark creatures that managed to get close to them. "We'll hold them off. Get to safety and tell Angeal. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"But what about…?" Kairi began to ask.

"Don't worry about those hunters, Princess," Zack said gently. "We'll figure out what to do later after this. You and Xion get to safety. I'm sure Sora is waiting for you two. Leon and I will take care of these demons."

* * *

><p>Sora watched from the back of the cave, unable to move. They were under attack. He knew he should've swum away with his friends, but he'd been too terrified to move. Too afraid that they would see him. The black creatures that the old man summoned went after his friends when they swam away. He slowly went into the water and swam off before they could see him. Leon was going to kill when he found out.<p>

"You monster!" Roxas shouted at Xehanort, being held back by Axel. "You can't capture them just so you can harvest them for their tears! Leave them alone!"

"Harvest them for their tears?" Sephiroth asked in disbelief. "Why would he want mermaids for their tears?"

Roxas slumped against Axel in defeat, holding back his own tears. "Because when a mermaid cries, their tears can turn into a gem. Some cry out sapphires, some cry out peridots, others cry pearls, and there are the rare ones that can cry diamonds. But there are the few mermaids who can cry unique crystals. The mermaid he has in captivity can cry Serenity Crystals, which can be used to boost the power of weapons and magic powers. But like all mermaids, it's tough to make it cry. He was only using you four as bait, distracting the mermaids so that he could sneak up on them and catch one. The mermaids would've killed all four of you had he not showed up."

Riku glared at the old man. "Is this true?" he asked. "You tricked us.

The old man didn't really show any reaction. "I had no choice," he said calmly. "The mermaids can be rather…vicious. But if you try to turn me in to anyone, I can either escape with the mermaid I have, or I can kill it and still escape. You won't turn me in right, Roxas?"

Axel held the blonde boy back, feeling him shake. "You bastard!" Roxas shouted. "Let him go. You know he won't cry. Let him go!" He leaned into Axel, actually taking comfort in the fire demon's embrace.

Xehanort sighed, shaking his head almost like he was sorry. "I see. Then I apologize for having to do this, but you leave me no choice," he told them. "Don't worry, Roxas. I'll make sure to take very good care of my prize while you die here with these four demons." He summoned a blue orb of light then shot it at the ceiling above the canoe.

"Watch out!" Riku shouted. They all jumped off the canoe and landed on the small areas of land nearby, seeing the falling rocks fall down onto the canoe, causing it to collaspe. Axel was standing on the opposite side of him, holding Roxas in his arms. Cloud and his father were another area of dry land not too far from them. He looked over to where Xehanort had been standing and saw no one there. "He's getting away!" He didn't wait for the others and ran after the old man.

Axel let Roxas go as he ran out of the cave with Cloud and Sephiroth. The ground was shaking violently and the walls around were shaking just as bad. Axel looked back and saw the roof collapsing as they ran out. "Oh you've got to be kidding me," he grumbled. Just as they made it to the cave with all the drawings on the wall the roof collapsed.

Roxas didn't know when it had happened, but he suddenly found himself under Axel as they were surrounded by rocks. "A-Axel?" He realized that the redhead protected him from getting crushed when the cave collapsed. Now Axel was struggling to keep himself strong so that he wouldn't crush him. With all the weight on his back, Roxas knew that it wasn't easy. "W-Why would you save me? You could've saved yourself."

The redhead smirked, shakily holding himself up. "Then who would be my date this Friday?" he asked, winking at him. If he hadn't been trapped under a ton of rocks, he would've laughed at the blush that stained Roxas' cheeks. "You didn't say no when I asked you."

"But I never said yes," Roxas pointed out, unable to believe that Axel would joke around at a time like this. He must've been in pain from blocking the rocks that would've crushed him had Axel not saved him.

"So you're not gonna go out with me this Friday? After I saved you from getting crush?" Axel asked. His voice was a little shaky from the strain of keeping the rocks from crushing them, but it still had that flirtatious ring to it.

Roxas felt his cheeks heat up more. He felt bad now that Axel put it that way. He figured he owed the redhead something for saving his life. "…Fine. I'll go out with you," he whispered. "But how are we gonna get out of here? Neither of us can move."

"Don't worry, blondie," Axel assured him. "One thing about Cloud, his big sword comes in handy for crushing big rocks. Though I still say his sword is that big as compensation to make up for something he lacks." He could actually feel the weight of the rocks getting lighter and knew Cloud and Sephiroth were trying to get them out.

"…You're a pervert," Roxas stated bluntly.

He chuckled, winking again at him. "I don't deny it. You should meet my older brother. He's worse than me."

"We're being slowly crushed the death by the damn cave and you're making sex jokes and hitting on me. How can he be any worse than you?" Roxas asked.

"…Touché, Roxy. Guess I'm worse than him now," Axel agreed. He saw the rocks surrounding them burst into little grains of dirt and shook off the remaining rocks on his back. "Bout time you two saved us. My back was starting to ache a little."

Cloud rolled his eyes, helping him and Roxas up. "Let's go, Xehanort is getting away."

* * *

><p>Xehanort moved fast for an old man, running out of the cave and headed to the smaller island that was passed the bridge. Riku managed to catch up to him and summoned his weapon. "You're not gonna get away that easily, Xehanort."<p>

The old man smirked, summoning his keyblade. "You're too weak, boy," he said. "You don't have enough power to stop me. I'm going to take that mermaid away and you won't be able to find us."

Riku growled, lunging at the older man. "You bastard!" Keyblades clashed as Riku attacked him. Xehanort easily blocked his attack, smirking at him. Riku growled again, backing away then slashed at him only to see the old man teleport away.

"As much as I would love to continue this little fight, I have other matters that require my attention," Xehanort said, charging a blue flame in his hand and fired it at him. Riku managed to block it with his dark shield, but he failed to notice that Xehanort teleported behind him. The old man slammed his keyblade hard on Riku's head, knocking out the young demon. "I told you that you're too weak," he said, kicking the dark demon into the water. He sensed the other demons and Roxas quickly heading towards the small island and teleported back to his home.

He walked slowly to the room that his prized mermaid was in. Teleporting to his home took a lot more energy out of him than he thought it would. That's why he didn't teleport much, but he had no choice but to do so in order to beat those demons here. He walked into the room, seeing the mermaid still bound to the rock with the sack over its head. "Sorry my little one, but I can't let them have you…"

Without warning, he summoned his keyblade and slashed at the mermaid.

* * *

><p>"Where's Riku?" Axel asked, looking around for their friend. All they had seen was Xehanort here on the smaller island then disappeared. He looked at Roxas, who was shaking badly and pale. "Do you know where Xehanort took him?"<p>

Roxas shook his head. "No, but we have to get back! He's gonna take the mermaid away and we won't be able to find them!"

Sephiroth growled quietly, aiming his Masamune at the blonde boy's throat. "Where did that old man take my son?"

"He didn't," Roxas replied, not even flinching at the long sword that was near his throat. He knew all it would take was one move and Sephiroth could kill him. But it took a lot to make him flinch. "He must've dumped Riku's body in the water. So it must be floating around or…" He looked out into the ocean, fearing the worst.

"My son wouldn't have died that easily," Sephiroth said, sheathing his sword. "We have to find him first."

* * *

><p>Sora knew he shouldn't be here, but he had to make sure he would live. He looked at the silver-haired boy that had fought so bravely against the man that wanted his people captured and harvested for their tears. When he'd seen the boy fall into the water, Sora knew he had to save him. He should've swum to the shore of the small island, but he didn't want to risk being seen by the others so he swam to the mainland and carried the boy to the large rocks near the shore. Luckily the silver-haired boy was breathing, but he had a large cut on the side of his head where the old man had hit him.<p>

Riku felt like his head was splitting into two, slowly blinking his eyes open. He found himself looking at the clear blue ocean…until he blinked again and realized he was looking into eyes that were blue like the ocean. The boy sitting above him had chocolate brown hair that was spiky and beautiful sun kissed tan skin, he wasn't too tan or too pale then again maybe he was dreaming. His mind was too foggy to really focus on anything. "What…?" he began to ask and slowly sat up only to see something flapping and trying to get away. Without a second thought, Riku went after whatever was trying to get away and stabbed his keyblade at a blue fin. He looked at where it belonged to only to see the boy that he was dreaming of looking at him with scared ocean blue eyes. Riku couldn't believe that a mermaid had saved him. "You…saved me?"

The mermaid didn't answer him, trying to get its tail away. Riku pulled it out, wincing at the sight of a little blood bleeding out of the place where he'd stabbed him. Sora slowly backed away towards the ocean, making sure to keep an eye on the boy. The wound on his fin was nothing to worry about and he knew Kairi would be able to heal once he got back home. He saw the silver-haired boy walk towards him and hissed, showing his "true" form, as Angeal called it.

The dark demon looked shocked at the seemingly innocent mermaid boy's appearance. One second he looked like any other human, minus the fin, and the next, the boy looked like a demon. His incisors had turned into sharp fangs, his eyes were completely blue and the pupils were slit like cat's eyes, and his nails had turned into claws. He watched as the boy slowly backed away and dove into the water.

"Riku!" He looked up, seeing his father flying towards him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, coughing a little bit of water out. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered. "What happened to Xehanort?"

Sephiroth frowned. "He got away. The boy fears that he's either killed or taken the mermaid away to another location. Axel and Cloud are on their way here with him."

"Guess there's only one way to find out. We have to go to Xehanort's mansion," Riku said. The feeling he had was not good. They all knew they were either going to see a dead body, or nothing at all.

* * *

><p>Kairi and Xion had been swimming around, looking for Sora. "Where could he have gone?" Xion asked. "He wasn't with us in the cave…was he?"<p>

"No, we would've seen him," Kairi told her. Just as she finished her sentence, she saw Sora swimming towards them. "Sora!"

He smiled sheepishly at them. "Hey," he greeted. "So what happened?"

Kairi didn't bother answering his question and punched his arm. "You idiot! You had us worried!" she shouted at him. "Where were you? Leon is probably having a fit that he can't find you."

Sora frowned at the mention of his cousin. "I was…there," he admitted. "I saw what happened."

Both of the girls looked at him with wide eyes and paled. "But how did you not get captured? Those demons were after us," Xion said.

"I was hiding," Sora told them. "I was on the other side of the cave and made sure to stay out of sight. The old man got away and one of the guys that were supposed to be hunting us fought him. I don't think they're after us. Or maybe they were, but not anymore."

"It doesn't matter, we can't trust them," Xion said. She looked at Sora for a moment before frowning. "What happened to your tail, Sora?"

He looked down at his fin, seeing a little blood from where the silver-haired boy had stabbed him. "Nothing, my tail got caught in something," he lied, hoping that she and Kairi wouldn't question it anymore.

Kairi sighed, rolling her eyes. "You klutz. Let me heal it or else Leon will flip out even more." She chanted a Cure spell, healing the small wound. "Now let's go. I'm sure Angeal will want to see us to make sure we're okay."

Sora nodded, swimming with them to their village. All he could think about was the silver-haired boy that he'd saved and wondered if he would ever see him again.

* * *

><p>They had hurried back to Xehanort's mansion only to find out that they were too late.<p>

Roxas looked around the room, looking for any sign of life. He whistled loudly, hoping that the mermaid would pop out of the water. But nothing came out. The water in the room was still and lifeless. He fell to his knees, holding back his tears. "No…"

He felt strong arms hug him from behind. "Roxas, we gotta go," Axel told him soothingly. "No point in staying here anymore." He felt his heart breaking as he saw Roxas struggling to keep himself from crying. It was obvious Xehanort had taken the mermaid elsewhere, but none of them had a clue where. "Come on, let's go."

"But I have nowhere to go," Roxas said, looking at him with wide blue eyes. Axel swore he could look into those eyes forever and never get bored. He wished he could get rid of the haunting look that always seemed to be in those deep ocean blue eyes.

"We'll figure something out," he told him gently, helping him stand up. "But we will find Xehanort and he will pay for what's happened." He helped the boy walk out of the room, seeing the defeated look in his eyes. Just as they walk up the stairs to the living room, Roxas fainted. "Roxas!" Axel managed to catch him in time before he hit the floor, holding him gently. "Roxas! Roxas, wake up!"

"Axel," Sephiroth said firmly. "He's exhausted from today's events. I imagine he and the mermaid were very close so he must be in shock right now and scared. He said he had nowhere to go?"

The fire demon nodded, carrying the blonde boy bridal style. "Yeah," he replied. "So he has no family or anyone that can take care of him."

"So what do we do with him?" Riku asked.

"It's not like Xemnas can just take him in," Cloud said. "He probably already has enough on his plate and adding an orphan human boy won't mix well."

"I'll take him back to my place," Axel told them. "He'll be safe with me and my brother."

"Fine, but be careful with him, Axel," Sephiroth warned. "When he wakes up, he might not be thinking rationally."

Axel shrugged. "Then that makes three of us. Not like me and my bro are ever thinking rational," he said, winking at his friends and laughed when he heard them groan.

* * *

><p>OMG! So sorry for uber long update! My laptop had gotten a virus last week (I think it was last week or the week before, don't exactly remember!XD). But either way! I had to get it repaired and thank goodness for my grandpa, who fixed it this past weekend. So huzzah!<p>

Sorry if it's a bit long but yeah. The "true" form of a mermaid is based on the mermaids from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I think those mermaids are freaking badass! With their fangs, weird eyes and claws when they attack. Yesh, I don't plan on making these mermaids like Ariel, who is sweet and gentle but I still love the Little Mermaid. And yesh, that was Sanctuary that Roxas and the other mermaids were singing. How original, right?XD

Anyways! Hopefully I can update by…Sunday? Maybe! We'll see! Laters!:D


	3. Chapter 3

Roxas woke up feeling arms around him, not knowing where he was. He didn't recognize the room nor did it look like any of the guest rooms in Xehanort's mansion. He felt the arms around him tighten and he turned around slowly to see who it was. He was shocked when he saw Axel's sleeping face. The redhead seemed relax while he slept and held Roxas like he'd done this many times. He had to admit that he felt comfortable in Axel's arms. It had been a long time since he'd felt safe anywhere or with anyone. But it seemed the fire demon just had that effect on him. He tried to pull away so he could get up, but Axel pulled him even closer. The blonde couldn't help but scowl. "Wake up," he whined quietly, needing to go to the bathroom.

The redhead stirred, opening his eyes to find himself looking at the deep ocean. He blinked again, seeing that it was Roxas scowling at him. "Morning," he greeted. "Sleep well?"

The blonde nodded, trying to wiggle his way out but it seemed that Axel had yet to let go. "It will be a good morning if you let me go so I can use the bathroom," he complained.

Axel laughed, letting him go and stretched. "Fine. I need to see if my brother is up anyways. His boyfriend probably stayed over," he said. He noticed the blonde boy's eyes widen in fear and started shaking a little. "Hey, don't worry. My brother and his boyfriend won't do anything to you. Just try not to be shocked if you see my bro groping his guy."

"I-I…I just don't trust anyone," Roxas explained. "I-I'm not accusing you or anyone of being bad people, but…"

"Hey, don't worry about it," Axel said, grinning. "If you were being held captive by that old man then I know you might have some trust issues. But we can't give you over to Xemnas since he'll probably be too busy with finding Xehanort and you don't have any family, right?"

Roxas bit at his lower lip, shaking his head. "I had my brother…but…"

Axel frowned when he saw Roxas about to cry and hugged him, nuzzling his spiky hair. "Shh, don't worry," he assured him. "I'll protect you. Promise."

Roxas looked up at him in disbelief. "You don't even know me and you're promising to protect me?"

The redhead smirked and winked at him. "Yeah. Cause if I don't protect you then I won't have my date this Friday."

"You're just more worried about having a date!" Roxas scowled, smacking his chest. "I'm sure you can find someone else that'll wanna date you."

"Mm, you're right. But one, you owe me for saving your life, and two, you owe me for sleeping on my bed," Axel said with a grin.

"I didn't ask you to put me on your bed!" Roxas shouted. "Where's the bathroom? I really have to go."

Axel pointed to the door on the left side of his room. "Right there. I have my own bathroom so you don't have to worry about my brother or his boyfriend barging in," Axel told him. "I don't have any clothes that'll fit you, but I'll leave some stuff for you to wear. Go ahead and wash up." He left the room and walked downstairs to the kitchen, seeing his brother, Reno making out with his boyfriend, Yazoo. "Guys, get a room. I don't wanna see ya slobbering all over each other."

His brother chuckled, releasing his boyfriend after giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Fine," he said and looked at him. "Where's the cute little blonde yo?"

"Taking a shower, and no, you can't go "check" on him," Axel said firmly.

Reno rolled his eyes. "You're no fun. Yazoo is making us lunch already since you two slept through breakfast."

"Try not to scare him. He's scared enough as it is and the last thing he needs is one of you harassing him," Axel said.

"I think you should take your own advice," Yazoo told him. "Now shut up and let me finish making lunch. Both of you are lucky I'm so nice."

"Nice? You? Yeah right. You're Sephiroth's son. Nice isn't in your DNA," Axel snapped.

Yazoo smiled evilly at him while still managing to look angelic. Out of the four sons, he was the prettiest and could bewitch anyone and everyone. Whereas Loz, Kadaj, and Riku managed to scare people if they looked at them with an evil glint in their eyes. Yazoo could at least make people think he was still innocent. "I think me doing your brother a favor last night has earned me points for being nice," he said.

"Ew, didn't need to know that," Axel said, pretending to gag. "Don't bother giving me details."

Roxas was standing around the corner, listening to them talk. The clothes that Axel had left for him were too big, but he at least wore the t-shirt and just put his pants back on. Though boxers on the other hand…Roxas couldn't help but blush. He couldn't wear them again until he could get them clean. The t-shirt he was given reached his mid-thigh, but it wasn't too baggy on him. He was scared to meet Axel's brother and his boyfriend. The last thing he wanted was to make more attachments to strangers when he had to focus on finding Xehanort and getting rid of him.

"You can come out from around the corner yo," he heard Axel's brother say. He was shocked that he'd sensed him when he hadn't even made a sound. He walked in, seeing all three men sitting down at the dining table and looking at him. "No need to be shy, we don't bite…unless you want us too."

The silver-haired man punched him on the arm, scowling at him then looked at Roxas. "Don't mind him, he's an idiot. I'm Yazoo," the man introduced himself. "And you are…?"

"Roxas," he replied, standing there awkwardly. He couldn't help but notice that the silver-haired man looked like the two silver-haired men that Xehanort had hired. Except this one was prettier, but the look in his eyes said he was just as ruthless as the other two.

"You hungry?" Axel asked standing up. "Yazoo made some beef stew, it's pretty good. Want some?"

"What's beef stew?" Roxas asked then noticed that all three men were staring at him like he was weird. He could feel his cheeks heating up from their gazes, wanting to disappear.

Axel frowned, looking at the blonde boy shake a little. "What did Xehanort feed you, Roxas?"

Roxas shifted uncomfortably, slowly backing away. "…Fish," he whispered. "That all he fed me and the…"

"So you've never had any other kinds of food?" Yazoo asked, clearly shocked by the revelation. "Hn, good thing for you that these two idiots eat almost anything and everything edible, so that problem will be remedied quick. Axel, serve him some food."

"Who died and made you the boss of me?" Axel grumbled, but listened anyways and served Roxas and himself some stew. "Go ahead and sit, Roxas. If my brother tries to touch you, either hit him or tell Yazoo." He sat back down at his chair and started eating.

Roxas sat down next on the other side and stared at the stew and the utensil that was inside it. He remembered Xehanort using them to eat, but he'd never used one himself. Every time Xehanort had fed him, he only gave Roxas raw fish to eat with his bare hands. He felt silly that he didn't even know what to do. He couldn't eat this stew with his bare hands because it was too watery and all the small chucks of food were covered in the brown broth. It was then he noticed Axel was staring at him while his brother and Yazoo were talking to each other. "What…?"

"You're not hungry?" Axel asked, noticing how Roxas blushed almost like he was embarrassed. "What's wrong?"

Roxas chewed on his lower lip nervously and shifted uneasily in the chair. "…I don't know how to eat with this utensil," he admitted, nodding to the utensil sticking out of the bowl.

"What? You don't know how to use a spoon?" How could Roxas not know how to use a spoon? Axel thought the boy was playing was dumb, but the look on his face said that he wasn't lying. "Did your parents not teach you how to use one?"

The blonde boy glared at him. "My parents died when I was a baby," he hissed. "Demons and humans hunted them, and eventually my parents were captured and killed."

Axel felt bad for questioning him, seeing the Roxas obviously hadn't had a normal like the rest of them. "Alright, I'm sorry for saying that," he said. "Come here. I'll show you how to eat with one." He shoved Reno off his chair and sat down on it, scooting over next to Roxas.

"Hey!" Reno whined, standing up. "What's your problem yo?"

"You and Yazoo go somewhere," he said.

"Tch, fine. Like I wanna stay here with your weird ass," Reno grumbled, walking out with Yazoo.

Axel looked at Roxas, smirking. "Had a feeling you wouldn't want them here to see this," he explained.

"T-Thanks," Roxas said, blushing even more when Axel grabbed his hand and showed him how to hold the spoon.

"Just grab it like that and try not to spill any of it on you," he said, watching as Roxas brought the spoon to his mouth and ate. "See? It's not that hard."

"No, it's not. I've just never used one," Roxas told him. "Xehanort would just give me and the mermaid fish. I had no choice but to eat by hand."

Axel frowned, reaching over to bring his own close to him. "How long as Xehanort kept you captive?"

"…I'm not sure," Roxas replied. "About…ten months, I think."

"So where did you live before he got you?" Axel asked, wondering exactly where the blonde boy came from. It didn't make sense that Roxas didn't even know how to use a spoon if Xehanort hadn't held him captive that long.

"With my brother," Roxas answered. "Our guardian only gave us foods that didn't require utensils."

"Strange way to live," Axel mumbled, eating his bowl of stew.

"We were always moving," Roxas admitted. "Food was always on the go, no time to sit and chat. Demons were hunting us and so were humans. We couldn't live in a place for too long."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Axel said encouragingly. "I'll teach you all that you need to know. Gotta make sure you don't look too silly for our date on Friday."

The blonde boy scowled, narrowing his eyes. "Go find another date."

"No, you owe me for saving you and letting you sleep on my bed," Axel said with a grin. "We'll go shopping later to buy you some clothes."

"Why are you really doing this?" Roxas asked. "I'm a complete stranger and you saved me despite the risk to your own life. Now you're willing to buy me stuff? Why? Why didn't you just abandon me? And don't say because you wouldn't have a date for Friday."

Axel thought about it, not really knowing why he cared so much about the blonde boy. Was it because of the never ending haunted look in Roxas' eyes? He honestly didn't know why he was doing all this, but he didn't care. Roxas was safer with him than anywhere else. "I honestly don't know why, blondie," he answered truthfully. "Do you want me to take you somewhere else? If you're not comfortable with me…"

"No," Roxas said. "I don't have anywhere else to go, and I want to help you find Xehanort. Even if you leave me at my old home, he'll just come after me again. If I wasn't safe at home before then I probably won't be safe there now. I just don't want you or anyone else to get hurt because of me."

"If I get hurt, will you kiss it and make it feel better?" Axel asked with a cheeky grin.

Roxas blushed, eyes narrowing. "No way."

"Aww, you're mean. It's the least you can do. Good thing I'm such a nice guy and letting you stay here," Axel whined playfully.

"I'll pay you back in some other way," Roxas said, finishing his food. "I promise I will."

Axel smiled, finishing his bowl. "Don't worry about it…but if you wanna pay me back then you'll have to go on a second date with me."

Roxas groaned, rolling his eyes.

* * *

><p>"We can't just swim around and wait," Leon told Angeal. "Let me and Zack train Sora and the others on land. We can't risk those guys coming back after us."<p>

"We can't assume that they'll come back," Angeal said calmly. "We can't risk anyone. Go meet with Xemnas and ask him about this old man. I'm sure he knows something that we don't."

Leon frowned. "Angeal, we can't run forever. Sora's brother and our friends are still missing. We have to find them. You know it's only a matter of time before Sora goes to look for them himself. He'll do it with or without your permission."

"And I will stop him," Angeal said. "Sora can't walk on land that good. He can't get far."

"My cousin learned to walk on land real quick," Leon shot back. "Sora may not be as quick as him, but he's a fast learner."

Angeal frowned, knowing it was true. Sora wasn't as strong as his brother, but he'd always been determined to be great. But Angeal couldn't risk him or the other young ones to go to the outside world just yet. "Just go to Xemnas and find out any information," he ordered. "And take Zack with you. _Only_ Zack. Don't take anyone else."

"Whatever," Leon said, swimming away to go get Zack. He found him near the training area, watching Sora and Xion spar while Kairi was floating nearby. "We have to go to the mainland, Zack. Angeal wants us to talk to Xemnas."

Zack nodded then looked at the kids. "Hey, you guys continue training. Leon and I have to go to the mainland."

Sora swam over to them. "Can I come with you guys? Please?"

Leon shook his head. "Sorry, but no. Angeal said only for me and Zack to go. I tried to convince him that you three need to start practicing walking on land, but he refuses to let me and Zack teach you. All you can do right now is continue your training here. We'll see if we can find out any information and see who those guys were."

"Fine," Sora said sadly. "Be careful. Don't get captured."

Zack ruffled his hair, smiling. "Don't worry about us. We'll be fine. Now go back to training." He and Leon swam off to the area that they had their supplies at for when they went to the mainland. Once they surfaced, he sat on the rock, watching his fin transform into human legs. After drying himself off, he changed into his usual leather pants that he always wore whenever he was on the mainland with his white t-shirt and his short sleeved leather jacket with his Griever symbol on it. Zack was dressed in a SOLIDER uniform from Angeal's days in the army. They walked towards the town of Destiny Islands heading to a small tavern that demons hung out at.

Leon saw most of Xemnas' men there, sitting around at various areas of the tavern. A silver-haired male with dark tan skin was sitting in the back corner with his mate, sitting next to him. Xemnas, also known as the Superior, was a dark dragon demon that had created a group known as the Organization, a group that made and enforced the laws of the demon world. It had various demons in it along with Xemnas' mate, Saix, a blue-haired Berserker demon. The two were rarely seen without the other. Though they were an odd couple, Leon couldn't help but feel a little envious that they had found love. But it did give him some hope that if dark violent men like them could find love, then so could he. "Leon, Zack, what a surprise," Xemnas greeted them.

"Xemnas," Leon said back, nodding in greeting to him and Saix. "We have some questions to ask you."

"You want to know about the men that were sent to capture one of your kind, correct?" Xemnas asked, wrapping his arm possessively around Saix's waist. The blue-haired demon nuzzled his neck, growling quietly while keeping an eye on Leon and Zack.

"Yes, and about an old man," Leon replied. "He's already come after us once and captured our friends. Five men that were hired by him came after us yesterday. We need to find out who they are since they might know where this old man is."

"I see," Xemnas said quietly. "And can you describe what these five men looked like?"

"One of them had really long silver hair," Zack said. "And he had these weird eyes that looked like a cat. There was another one with silver hair, but he looked younger, like maybe he was the guy's son. Then there was a redhead and a boy wearing a hoodie that covered his face."

"And there was a spiky, blonde-haired male with glowing blue eyes," Squall said.

Xemnas chuckled, looking at Saix with a knowing look that made Saix smirk. "I think I can…arrange a meeting with them. I know who they are. Did the redhead happen to have green eyes with tattoos under them?"

Zack shrugged. "Not sure about the tattoos but I know he had green eyes. Why?"

"That man works for me," Xemnas replied. "I'll call him in and ask him to bring his comrades."

"You sure he'll bring them here?" Leon asked.

"He'll listen to me if he wants to get paid," Xemnas said, pulling his cell phone out of this pocket. "And Saix is also his best friend."

Zack had to keep himself from laughing. He couldn't really see the Berserker demon having many friends, but then everyone needed a friend. It's just that Saix always with Xemnas and was never seen talking to anyone else unless Xemnas was nearby. Zack walked away with Leon, who looked mad. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to kill those men," Leon snapped. "They think can attack us and get away with it? Not on my watch."

Zack sighed, scratching his head nervously. This wasn't gonna go well.

* * *

><p>Riku couldn't help but still think about the mermaid from yesterday. His father forced him to stay home to recover after being attacked by Xehanort. Nothing at home could keep his mind off the mermaid boy. Those big blue eyes haunted his every thought. Why would the mermaid save him? It made no sense that it did. Riku knew that what they were doing was wrong and yet the mermaid saved him from possibly drowning. Even when the mermaid showed it's other form, Riku still couldn't help but be enchanted by the boy.<p>

"Why do I keep thinking about you?" he mumbled to himself. He got up and walked out of the house, heading to the beach. The sound of the waves always calmed him. He walked to the area where the mermaid had brought him to safety, wondering if he would see the mermaid there, even though the chances of that were slim. After yesterday, he wouldn't be surprised if the group of mermaids decided to move elsewhere. His father said that they were going to look for Xehanort and save the mermaid that was being held captive. But for all they knew, it was too late and the mermaid was probably dead by now. They hadn't seen any blood at the mansion, but it didn't mean that Xehanort wasn't torturing it right now. He could only imagine how upset Roxas was since he seemed to be close to it.

None of it seemed to matter now. Xehanort wouldn't be found unless his dad got someone that was a good tracker. The old man was long gone…and so was the poor mermaid. Riku felt weak that he couldn't defeat him. If he'd been able to do that, they could've freed the mermaid and it could be home right now with its family and friends. Roxas could be home with his family and friends. But now that Riku thought about it, the blonde boy was probably in more danger than any of them. Xehanort had captured him for a reason and he would try to get the boy back for that reason. Axel was going to need help guarding him. While Xehanort tried to kill them along with Roxas, he knew the old man would probably come after him once he found out he was alive.

He sighed to himself, his thoughts going back to that mermaid. "I really need to stop thinking about him. It's not like he's thinking about me…"

About twenty meters away, Sora was keeping an eye on the silver-haired boy. He'd been swimming around the area to see if Leon or Zack would stop by, but instead he found the boy from yesterday. He could hear talking to himself and how he couldn't get someone out of his thoughts. Though he couldn't but wonder who he was thinking about.

"I really need to stop thinking about that mermaid," Riku said to himself. "He saved my life and won't come back. I didn't even thank him, instead I attacked him. Wish I could apologize…but he was cute. Too bad he probably thinks I'm evil."

Sora blinked in shock. The boy was thinking about…him? And even wanted to apologize for attacking him? Sora felt his cheeks heat up from hearing the boy thinking about him. No one had ever looked at him that way before. Kairi and Xion didn't interest him in that way nor did he interest them, Zack was always swimming around too much to settle down, and there was no one else. He sighed, going under the water and swam back home. His heart was beating really fast after hearing that from the silver-haired boy that he saved. He couldn't believe that someone actually thought he was cute. Sure he'd heard Zack call him cute before, but it was always joking around. Now someone, a total stranger, had called him cute.

He swam back to his and Leon's home, deciding to sleep until Leon came home. Kairi and Xion were gonna go look for seashells around the area nearby, but he didn't feel like going. Now he couldn't get the silver-haired boy out of his thoughts.

Maybe going against Angeal's wishes wouldn't be so bad…

* * *

><p>Xemnas was still sitting in the same spot as earlier, talking with Saix. He'd called Axel and ordered him to bring Sephiroth, Riku, Cloud, and whatever other boy had been with them yesterday to the tavern. Axel told him that Riku was still recovering after nearly dying from yesterday's events and that the other boy couldn't be found. He saw the three men enter, walking pass everyone and heading straight for him. He rubbed Saix's back when he heard the Berserker growling quietly. "Gentlemen, good evening," he greeted.<p>

"There better be a good reason why you called us here on such short notice," Sephiroth said, getting straight to the point. "My youngest son is still recovering and-"

"I'd be worried about the son that's with Axel's older brother," Xemnas interrupted, not paying attention to the glare Sephiroth gave him. He was used to it. The One-Winged Angel could growl and snap at him all he wants, but knew that at the end of the day, Xemnas was still the Superior of the demon world and his final words were law. Sure Sephiroth could beat him any day in a fight and was just as smart in politics, but Xemnas had better connections. "Now, I did call you hear for a reason and-"

"Am I getting paid for being here on my day off?" Axel asked. "Cause I had other plans and-"

"The sooner you listen, the sooner you leave," Saix said, eyes narrowing at his friend.

Sephiroth glared at Xemnas. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I don't want anything," Xemnas stated. "But two men have something to ask you and they've been patiently waiting for you."

"What two men?" Cloud asked.

Xemnas smirked, wrapping his arm tighter around Saix's waist. "Two…mermen."

"Mermen…?" Axel asked. His eyes widened when he realized what Xemnas was talking about. "Wait, you mean you know them?"

"He sure does," a voice said from behind them. Leon held his gunblade at the blonde man's throat while Zack held his Buster Sword at the silver-haired man's throat and had a Blizzard spell aiming at the redhead should he make a threatening move.

Cloud looked at the brunette, remembering those stormy gray eyes and that scar in between his eyes. "You…"

Leon narrowed his eyes at him. "Now I think you three will sit down and give us some answers about the old man and what you know about him."

* * *

><p>So sorry for long update again! I just wasn't focused and yeah…sorry. I'll try to update faster!<p>

But yeah, like it? Hate it? Let me know! Don't worry! Riku and Sora will be meeting each other soon. Might reveal the identity of the mermaid being held captive, or bring in that hooded boy from the first chapter. Don't know yet. XD

And I don't know why, but I like the idea of Xemnas being a dragon. I think it suits him. But yeah we'll probably see more of him and Saix, just not that much.

Anyways, hope you like this chapter and I'll try my best to update sooner! Laters!:D


	4. Chapter 4

"You owe us some answers," Leon growled, looking up at the blonde man and holding his gunblade at his throat. "Why did you come after our people?"

"Now Leon, please take this outside if it's going to get violent," Xemnas said. "I don't want any fights in my tavern. Unless you're willing to pay for the damages."

"Don't worry," Leon said, walking towards the blonde, who took a step back. "We're taking this outside." He forced the blonde and his two friends outside with Zack's help. He glared at the blonde man. "Now, why were you hunting us yesterday?"

Cloud kept his hands up in surrender to show that he meant no harm. "Look, we were hired to do so, but we found out that the man was actually setting us up to die. We're not going to come after you again."

"How do I know that?" Leon snapped, pressing the tip of his gunblade closer to the man's throat. "Many demons _and_ humans have come after us for our tears. Why should I think you're any different?"

"Because we don't need your tears to better our lives," Sephiroth said calmly. "We're just mercenaries that are hired for odd jobs and we're the best. Plus, I don't like torturing the innocent. It's not my style."

Zack kept his eyes on the silver-haired man, checking his reactions that might give anything away to tell if he was lying. It seemed like he wasn't, but there was always that chance. "Who was the man that hired you to come after us? We saw him the last time he was there and captured our friends."

"Friends? As in he captured more than one the last time?" Axel asked, keeping an eye on the Blizzard spell in the black-haired male's hand that was aimed at him.

He nodded. "Yeah, he captured two of our friends and possibly a third," Zack replied. "It was likely he was able to capture the third, he wasn't able to walk on land real good so he would've been an easy catch."

Axel frowned, hating that he going to give the two mermen some bad news. "We only saw one in his mansion," he told them, seeing their shocked looks. "It doesn't look like there were others. He only had one with him."

"Only one…?" Leon asked in disbelief. "What did the mermaid he has look like?"

"We don't know," Cloud told him. "Xehanort had a sack over its head whenever we saw it. It was a male with a dull golden fin, but we don't know much more than that."

"Golden fin…," Leon said quietly. It wasn't his cousin. So that meant his cousin was possibly dead and one of their friends were definitely dead. But there was always that chance that his cousin was never captured and still out there looking for them. It was a fifty-fifty chance, but he had to believe. Sora would be heartbroken if his brother was dead. But it still meant that one of their friends was dead and the other was probably dying. "Xehanort…that was the man that hired you?"

"Yes," Cloud answered. "We could take you to his mansion, but he's long gone along with the mermaid. Even the boy he kept as his slave doesn't even know where he went nor have any clue where to start looking."

"Then you guys are of no use to us," Leon said, lowering his gunblade.

"We'll help you find him," Cloud said.

"We don't need your help," Leon snapped. "You've done enough damage to us already." He walked away with Zack, heading back inside the tavern and walked to Xemnas. "An old man named Xehanort. Know anything about him?"

Xemnas visibly stiffened, but kept his features stoic. He also noticed how Saix looked at Xemnas with some concern in his eyes. "I know of him," Xemnas answered. "What do you need to know?"

"Anything and everything about him," Leon said. "That was the old man that attacked our people and he killed one, possibly two, of them and holding one captive."

"He always did like collecting rare things," Xemnas mumbled. "I can send some of my men out to collect information on him, but it might stuff you already know. Finding him will be next to impossible if he's hiding somewhere."

Leon cursed under his breath. "So what are me and our people supposed to do? Wait around until he attacks us again? It's just me, Zack, and Angeal that can fight on both land and water. The younger ones can't even walk on land yet."

"Then keep the fight underwater," Xemnas said. "I'm the Superior of the Organization, not your war advisor. I'll do the best I can to find him, but I need you to tell your leader that he must be prepared for another attack. Now, we can offer you and your people sanctuary elsewhere if you need it."

"Angeal won't want that," Leon said quietly. "Knowing him, he'll think it'll scare the younger ones."

"We can help," they heard someone say from behind. Leon turned around, seeing the blonde man with his two comrades. "We want to get Xehanort back for nearly killing us."

"I know two people that can help us," Sephiroth said.

"We don't need your help," Leon growled at them.

"I think you might have spoken too soon, Leon," Xemnas said, looking past them.

Leon and Zack looked back towards the entrance of the tavern, seeing Angeal staggering in. It was clear that he'd been in a fight, bruises were everywhere and he was bleeding on his stomach. He looked at them. "Leon…Zack…," he whispered, falling on his knees.

"Angeal!" Zack shouted, running to the bigger man. "What happened? Where are Xion and the others?"

"We were ambushed," Angeal said. "The old man came back. I managed to fight him off to give the young ones time to escape, but…"

"Angeal?" Sephiroth looked down at the male, shocked. "You're a…mermaid?"

Angeal looked up, seeing his old comrade. "Sephiroth…what are you doing here?"

"He's part of the group that attacked us yesterday," Zack told him. "Where is my sister?"

"I don't know," Angeal admitted. "I imagine they're not far from the beach."

"Let's get him somewhere to heal," Leon ordered. "Don't you have someone that's a doctor, Xemnas?"

The dragon demon nodded. "Yes, take him upstairs to Vexen. He'll take care of him. It's best if you hurry and find your friends."

"We'll go with you," Cloud said. "Axel-"

"I have to go back home," Axel interrupted. "If that old man is out there, he might get his former slave back. I don't know if Reno and Yazoo are home."

"Fine, go," Cloud said, watching the redhead run out the tavern. He looked at Sephiroth. "I'll go with him to find their friends. It seems you and their leader have some things to discuss."

Sephiroth nodded, helping his friend upstairs. "So…how long were you planning to keep this from us?"

Angeal smiled grimly, looking a little pale from the blood loss. "I would've told you and Genesis eventually, but their protection came first. We're the only mermaids left in the world."

"I see," Sephiroth mused. "So this is why you could never invite us to your home. It would be a little hard to talk underwater for us."

"Yes it would be," Angeal said as Zack laid him on the bed in Vexen's office. "Sephiroth, this is Zack. Zack, that's Sephiroth. I fought with him during the war."

Zack went wide-eyed with excitement. "You mean this is the Demon of Wutai? The Nightmare?" he asked excitedly then looked at Sephiroth with admiration in his eyes. "Angeal told me all about you! How strong you are and how you were able to take down a hundred soldiers without breaking a sweat!"

Sephiroth blinked, wondering how someone who was holding a sword to his throat a few minutes ago was now admiring him. Though he would never admit it out loud, he thought the boy was kinda cute. He knew if the boy had a puppy tail, it would be wagging in excitement. Maybe that's why Angeal always called him the Puppy.

"Zack," Angeal groaned. "Don't bother him with your rambling. Go get your sister and the others. It'll be a little hard carrying three teenagers for Leon and Sephiroth's comrade." He heard his cell phone ring, seeing Leon's name on the screen. "What is it, Leon?"

"…Where's Sora?" Leon asked.

* * *

><p><em><span>Meanwhile, elsewhere…<span>_

He knew from the moment the old man left the mansion that this would probably be his only chance to save him. He'd been waiting for this a long time.

Jumping over the fence, he ran behind the trees and bushes in case there were any guards nearby. From what he gathered, Xehanort was never one for having guards, but one could never be too cautious. He ran to a nearby window, breaking it as quietly as he could and went inside. This mansion wasn't as big as the mansion back in Destiny Islands which would make it easier to find what he was looking for and escape.

He walked around the mansion, trying to find anything that would lead to what he wanted. The mansion was dusty and dark, obviously having been abandoned for a while. The old man really travelled far in one day to get away from those hunters he'd hired. Twilight Town was about an eight hour drive from Destiny Islands or fifteen hours by boat. The old man had obviously taken the latter route since the mermaid would not have survived a drive since there was no salt water.

He walked into a room with a big computer, seeing no sign of the mermaid. It was then he noticed what was on the monitor of the computer, seeing that it was talking about the mermaid. He quickly ran to the hidden room.

It was completely white with pods full of salt water. The mermaid was in the middle one, weakly scratching at the glass. The old man should've known that like all living things, it needed air. But this was probably his way of keeping the mermaid weak. He quickly punched a hole in the glass of the pod, watching the mermaid quickly go near it to breathe.

The mermaid looked at the figure outside the glass. It was obviously a male with the way the cloak clung to the muscles of his chest and torso. The hood was up, covering the man's face. "…Help," he croaked weakly. He hoped this person would have mercy on him and set him free to the ocean. He'd lost everything thanks to Xehanort. Everyone he ever cared for, gone…he had nothing now. But he wanted to go back to the ocean just one more time before turning into sea foam and fading into the ocean.

"Hold on," the hooded man ordered.

The voice sounded so familiar to the mermaid, but he couldn't place it. He knew he wasn't thinking straight due to exhaustion and malnutrition. The hooded boy had summoned his weapon and slashed at the glass, breaking it. He caught the mermaid before he could hit the ground.

"Don't worry," the voice said gruffly. "We'll get you better. Then we can come back and get Xehanort for doing this to you."

The mermaid smiled sadly. How he wished he had the will to get revenge on the old man. But it wouldn't matter…his family was dead. Killing Xehanort wouldn't bring them back.

"You hear me?" the hooded boy asked. "Don't die on me. You won't die." He could see the mermaid was falling asleep. It looked like it had been a long time since it slept properly. He would need a few days or even weeks before he could fully recover, but he would be patient.

"Thank you," the mermaid said before the darkness of sleep took over.

* * *

><p><em><span>After escaping from Xehanort…<span>_

Sora had never swum so fast before in his life. The attack had been unexpected and Angeal had ordered him, Kairi, and Xion to swim away. He was worried about their leader. Sora had gotten split up from Kairi and Xion when some monsters that the old man had summoned caught up to them. Some of those monsters had been chasing them and he'd spilt up from them in order to draw the monster towards him. Luckily he was a good warrior in the water and had easily finished them off, but now his friends were elsewhere and he was stuck.

He swam to one of the areas where their supplies for dry land were, seeing that someone had been there. His friends must've gotten their stuff and were probably trying to now get away even though they couldn't walk very well. "Please be okay," he said to himself. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't heard anything going on around him until he heard a gasp. He looked to where it came from, seeing the silver-haired boy that he'd saved.

"You…," Riku said. He saw the mermaid back away from him. "Please! Wait a minute! I'm not going to hurt you." The mermaid stopped, looking at him cautiously. "I won't hurt you. I just wanted to thank you for saving me. If it hadn't been for you, I would've probably died." He sat down on a nearby rock, keeping an eye on the mermaid. Now that he was able to really look at him, Riku couldn't help but think the mermaid boy was cute. It was looking at him with those big blue eyes that reminded him of the clear blue ocean water. His chocolate brown hair was very spiky, giving Cloud a run for his money in that department. "Do you talk…?"

Sora nodded, swimming a little closer to him. "Yes," he answered.

"Do you have a name?" Riku asked, watching the mermaid swim a little closer to him. "I'm Riku."

"I'm Sora," he greeted. "Why were you after us?"

Riku frowned, knowing that the mermaid would want to know why. "We were hired by an old man named Xehanort. We didn't think we'd actually see mermaids so we thought it was easy money. We weren't really going to capture one of you."

"So you do protect," Sora said. "I knew you were different. I saw you fight Xehanort. You're really strong."

The silver-haired boy snorted at that. "Yeah right. I couldn't stop him," he said. "He got away because I wasn't strong enough and now he's out there, waiting for the right moment to get you and your people."

"That's why I'm here," Sora told him. "He came back and attacked us. Well, he ordered those monsters to attack us, but still. I got separated from my friends. Some monsters had actually caught up to us and I had to fight them off. But I hope my friends are okay. I think they're on the main land. Though they can't really walk well."

"They can't? What about you?" Riku asked.

Sora shook his head. "No. My cousin was gonna help me learn how to walk, but after our friends went missing…our leader doesn't want any of us going too far away. My brother disappeared shortly after," he told him. "So it's only a few of us left…"

"Sorry," Riku apologized. "…You guys must've lived a hard life, huh?"

The mermaid boy shrugged. "I really don't remember a time where we weren't swimming off to a new place to live. My people have always been hunted for our tears. My parents were killed a few weeks after my brother and I were born. My cousin, his friend, and our leader raised me along with my brother and friends. We were raised to never cry because our tears can turn into special gems that many demons and humans wanted."

"Special gems, huh? What exactly do these gems do that make demons and humans go crazy for them?" Riku asked.

Sora shrugged again, floating nearby. "Depends on the gem. The Orichalcum gem is said to be strongest and can give anyone limitless power. So of course anyone who wants power would hunt us, but we think the mermaids who were able to cry them have died out. Though our leader believes one of us can cry them, though we don't know who."

"That must be tough, having to keep looking over your shoulder every second just to make sure no one is coming after you," Riku said. He heard his phone ring in his pocket, seeing it was his dad. "What is it, dad?"

"We need your help," his father told him. "Xehanort attacked the group of mermaids again and one of them is missing." He heard someone talking to his father, it sounded like a man but the voice didn't sound familiar. "It's a boy with spiky brown hair and blue eyes. His name is Sora. Apparently he got separated from the two girls that he was supposed to be protecting. I need you to just look around and see if you can find him. According to my friend, he can't walk on land real well."

Sora saw Riku look at him while he talked to a weird device, wondering what kinda powers it had. Technology was so advance in the outside world. He could hear someone's voice coming out of the device and he couldn't help but be amazed. He saw Riku frown and look at him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Dad, hold on," Riku said and held the phone away from his ear. "Your leader was seriously injured fighting off Xehanort. I know where he is, but I heard you can't walk on land real good. Right?"

The mermaid boy nodded. "Angeal wouldn't let me practice walking after the old man attacked us the first time. Will Angeal be okay? He'll live, right?"

Riku nodded then brought the phone back to his ear. "Dad, I'll be there soon." He hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. "I can take you to where your leader is. My dad said he was hurt, but that he'll be fine." He noticed the mermaid looked a little hesitant to go near him and had backed away a little.

"You're not doing this to kidnap me, are you?" Sora asked. He so badly wanted to believe that Riku wouldn't hurt him, but there was always that chance that he could be lying. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Riku held his hand out to him, looking him straight in the eye. "I don't have anything to prove to you that I'm not lying to you." He saw the mermaid boy swim a little closer to him, the hesitation still in his eyes.

Sora bit at his lower lip, slowly reaching his hand out to Riku's. "You know, giving your hand to the other person is almost the same as entrusting them with your life," he said quietly.

"And you can trust me," Riku said. "I promise I'll never lie to you and will protect you and your family and friends. Give me a chance."

The mermaid boy looked up at him, seeing that he wasn't lying and decided to go for it. He grabbed Riku's hand, feeling the silver-haired boy's hand hold onto him tightly. Riku lifted him up so that he could sit on a nearby rock. He stopped him when he saw that he was going to lift him up. "Hold on," he said. "My fin will go away real quick. It'll look weird to everyone if you're carrying a mermaid."

Riku watched in amazement as the blue fin faded into two human legs. He made sure to look away, knowing that Sora was naked due to not wearing any clothes as a mermaid. He pulled off his shirt and handed it to him. "Here, this will at least cover you until you get some clothes," he told him. He saw the brown-haired boy put the shirt on then struggled to stand up. "You really can't walk?"

"…No," Sora admitted quietly. "I didn't have enough time to learn since Xehanort attacked us and my leader wanted us to stay in the ocean. So I don't know how to walk…" He gasped and held onto Riku when the older boy picked him up bridal style. "What are you doing?"

"I don't have time to teach you how to walk, so I'll just carry you like this until you learn," Riku said, walking back to his car. He tried not to think about how natural this felt. Sora smelled of the ocean and despite being in the water all his life, his skin still felt very soft. He couldn't help but caress his thighs a little as he held him, feeling bad that he was acting like a pervert. Though Sora didn't seem to notice since he was too busy looking around the area in amazement. "You've never been outside, huh?"

Sora shook his head. "No. This is the most I've ever seen of the outside world," he answered. "I've always wanted to see your world. The ocean doesn't have many things like your world does. Or so what I've been told. Leon, Zack, and Angeal are the only ones who've been out. They taught me, my brother, and our friends about the outside world though none of us have ever been out here."

"Then…how about when this is all over, I take you to some of the places that you want to see?" Riku asked, setting him down in the passenger seat of his car and buckled him in. He noticed the way Sora stiffened, looking at the seatbelt like it was going to strangle him. "Don't worry. It's to keep you from flying out of the car if we get into an accident and crash." He got in the driver's seat, starting the car then drove off towards the tavern that his dad and the others were at. "What's the ocean like? I've only been swimming, but I don't know how one lives in it."

"I really wouldn't know," Sora said. "Mermaids used to be many in numbers and lived in every part of the ocean, but now…there's only a few of us. Angeal said we're the only ones left. So…we're almost extinct. The only females we have are my friends Kairi and Xion. The rest of us are males. But the way we live when we're not moving around, we sleep in homes made of coral and sleep in clamshells. My cousin, and my brother and I lived together. But my brother is probably…" He bit at his lower lip, not wanting to say that his brother was probably dead. Saying it would be him believing it and he didn't want to believe it until he saw a body. Until then, he would believe that his brother was alive.

"I'm sure your brother is alive," Riku said. He smiled with reassurance. "If he's strong like you, then he must still be alive."

Sora felt his cheeks heat up and looked down at his legs. "How do you know I'm strong?"

"You carried me from that small island to the mainland, didn't you?" Riku asked. "That alone must've been tough especially going against the waves and me being unconscious, unable to help you. Plus, you were ready to attack after I accidentally attacked you, which I'm sorry for."

The mermaid boy felt his cheeks heat up even more at the mention of that. "I don't usually look like that. That form only comes out when I'm in a life threatening situation. I thought you were going to kill me."

"I don't blame you," Riku said, turning into the parking lot of the tavern. "We're here." He got out of the car and carried Sora out, making sure his shirt covered him as best as it could. He walked inside, seeing all of Xemnas' men inside. "Where's my dad?"

Larxene, the only female of the group pointed to the stairs. "Up there in Vexen's office. Treating a big man for a stab injury," she said then went back to filing her nails with her kunai.

Sora gasped, looking at Riku. "Angeal was stabbed?" He held onto him as Riku walked up the stairs and saw the door opened a room. He saw Zack there with the tall silver-haired man, who he was assuming that was Riku's dad, and Angeal was lying down on the bed. "Angeal!"

Angeal looked over at him and Riku. "You're alright," he said in relief.

He nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know where Kairi and Xion are," he said. "Some of those monsters caught up to us and I had to fight them off while Xion and Kairi escaped. But I couldn't find them after. I'm sorry I failed."

"You didn't fail," Angeal told him gently. "Your cousin had called a few minutes ago and said they found them on the beach and are bringing them over here right now. So they were safe thanks to you, Sora. You're proving to be just as strong as your brother. It's because of you that Kairi and Xion are safe."

Sora smiled sadly at the mention of his brother. "Yeah…do you think he's…?"

"He's alive," Angeal said confidently. "He's too damn stubborn to die easily."

"I hope you're right," Sora whispered, feeling Riku's arms tighten around him.

"I'll take him home so I can lend him some clothes," Riku said. "I promise to bring him back afterwards." He walked out of the room, holding Sora close. "We need to get you some clothes. Walking around wearing my shirt might cause a few problems."

Sora blushed a little. "I didn't realize I was that exposed."

Riku laughed. "Don't worry, I might have some clothes that might fit you. After we take care of that, we'll come back here so you can see your friends and we'll figure out what to do next."

* * *

><p>"Xehanort attacked the mermaids again?" Roxas shouted. "Are they okay? Were any of them captured or hurt?"<p>

"Whoa, one question at a time," Axel said. "Yeah, they're fine, only one of them got hurt but he's okay now. But I'm afraid the old man might try to come back and get you. We might have to go somewhere else to keep you safe. Who knows what the old man might do."

Roxas bit at his lower lip, tugging at the shirt he was wearing. "But we have to find him so we save the mermaid," he pointed out. "We have to save him. Xehanort is probably torturing him right now."

Both of them jumped when they heard Axel's phone ring. Axel looked at the number on the screen, not recognizing it and thought it was probably one of the Organization members using a public phone or something and answered it. "Hello?"

"Very clever," Xehanort told him. "I see you guys are more clever than I gave you credit for."

Axel growled. "What are you going on about, old man?"

"I see you guys already found my location," Xehanort said. "Though I wonder how the mermaid survived since I left him in a closed place with no air. Is he able to breathe now that he's back in the ocean?"

"You're not making sense," Axel snapped then realized what he meant. "Wait, the mermaid is missing? What did you do?" He saw Roxas look at him with big, fearful eyes when he said the mermaid was missing.

"…You don't have it?" Xehanort sneered. "How can that be?"

Roxas took the phone from Axel. "What did you do to him?" he asked. "What did you do to him, Xehanort? Tell me!"

"Oh dear Roxas, it seems our mermaid has swum off to unknown parts and I can't seem to find him," Xehanort said. "Or did someone follow me here and took him away…? Hmm, maybe the security cameras caught something. Sorry, Roxas. But it looks like he's probably traded me for another master."

"You bastard!" Roxas shouted. He looked at the phone when he didn't hear anything, seeing that Xehanort hung up on him. "No…" He couldn't believe that the mermaid was gone. Someone must've broken into Xehanort's hideout and took the mermaid away while he was attacking the mermaid people again. Now no one knew where the mermaid could be, or anything about the person that took him away. For all he knew, this person was torturing the mermaid beyond belief. He felt strong arms wrap around him and lips against his ear.

"I promise we'll find him," Axel whispered, holding him close. He turned Roxas around so that he could look at him. "And I promise, when I get my hands on Xehanort, I'll make him pay for all the pain he's put you and that mermaid through."

Roxas couldn't blink, unable to look away from those acidic green eyes. "…You're not one of those people that make and break promises, are you?"

Axel gave him a cocky smirk. "I always keep my promises, got it memorized?"

The blonde couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah…thank you, Axel."

"Just so you know, you owe me another date," Axel told him, laughing when he saw Roxas look at him with wide eyes. "What? You didn't think I was going to do this without getting something out of it, did you?"

Roxas scowled cutely at him. "You pervert!" He walked off, going into the bathroom and closed the door, leaning against it. As much as he would like to deny it, he actually looked forward to going on a date with the redhead. But first he had to find where the mermaid was and save him. Then he could look forward to his dates with Axel.

* * *

><p>Finally! I update! I've been spazzing out about school since I can't go because of some financial aid problems. Hopefully it gets resolved or I'm gonna have to start paying off my loans in a month. D8<p>

Anyways, enough about me. So yeah, can you guess who the hooded person is? Or who the mermaid is? Is the hooded person a good guy or bad guy, or is he Team Neutral? Hmm, yesh. I'm going to keep you guessing. :3

But hey, at least Sora and Riku know each other now! Might bring in everyone's favorite redhead from Crisis Core for the next chapter, but we'll see! Hope you like the update! Good? Bad? Well I hope it's good if you've made it this far. O_O

Well, I hope you liked it! Next chapter coming soon!8D


	5. Chapter 5

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus, and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest," a melodic voice said as Angeal was barely waking up.

He felt a smile form on his face, knowing exactly who it was and what they were reading, again. "LOVELESS, act one," Angeal said, looking at the person sitting next to him.

Genesis Rhapsodos, first class SOLIDER and his childhood best friend. It had been a few months since Angeal last him, but he still looked the same. Same shiny red hair, same red coat with black clothing, and still had that book LOVELESS in hand. "Good to see you're awake, old friend," he said with a smirk. "Want to tell me about your…dilemma?"

Angeal groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Where should I start?"

"Perhaps with why you never me the truth?" Genesis suggested. "I thought I was your best friend and Sephiroth found out about this _before_ me? I must say I'm offended at this. I've known you a lot longer than he has."

"He didn't find out because I told him," Angeal said. "He only found out because he happened to be here when I was here and saw that I was hurt. It wasn't hard for him to find out. I would've told the two of you a lot sooner, but I had to protect my family. There are only a handful of us left."

Genesis narrowed his eyes. "I'm not convinced," he said coolly. "You know I wouldn't have hurt you or your people. Do you not trust me?"

Angeal looked away, unable to see the look of hurt in his friend's eyes. He knew Genesis would try to hide his feelings, but Angeal had known him since they were kids. Genesis lived in a village near the ocean and Angeal lived in that area of ocean nearby. The two of them had done a lot of things together. But nonetheless, Angeal knew he'd hurt his friend's feelings by not telling him the truth. "Genesis, I know I've broken your trust in me from this, but understand that my people have trusted their childhood friends that were humans and demons only to be betrayed by them the minute they found out the truth. It killed me not to tell you, but I just couldn't risk the kids' lives. If it had only been me, I would've told you a long time ago."

"Kids?" Genesis asked. "You have kids?"

Angeal couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head. "No, I don't," he answered, seeing his friend glare at him. "I don't have any kids, but the others are kids. The only two adults I have to help me are Zack and Leon. The others are teenagers. There are only a handful of us left in the world."

"I see…," Genesis mused. "Well, I don't know how I'll like a bunch of teenagers roaming around, but you can stay at my place. I have plenty of room in my mansion for all of you and I shall help in any way I can to find the man responsible for all of this."

"Genesis, we can't-I mean it's too much and-," Angeal tried to explain.

The redhead narrowed his eyes at him. "Okay, let's me rephrase that. You _are_ going to be staying at my place along with any of your people and that's final. Understand?"

The big man was about to argue, but realized he would lose. Especially since his friend had that fiery look in his eyes that meant he was going to do anything and everything in his power to win this argument. "Okay," he agreed. "It's only me, two other guys, and three teenagers, one boy and two girls. I imagine the girls will want to sleep in the same room. We'll try to stay out of your way."

"Do you have too much water in your ears?" Genesis asked. "I said I would help you and I meant it. No one hurts my friend and gets away with it. And don't you dare try to change my mind, understand?"

Angeal couldn't help but smile. Genesis would always be the controlling one between the two of them and wouldn't care what anyone else had to say. His friend would always do what he wanted, consequences be damned. "Okay, we'll stay at your place."

"Good, because it wasn't up for discussion," Genesis huffed.

"I see you two are as agreeable as ever," Sephiroth said in amusement, walking in the room. "Though it was obvious that Genesis was going to win. You never could say no to him, Angeal."

"No, I can't," Angeal agreed. "He has a way of getting through all my defenses and giving me no room to argue."

"I'm right here you know," Genesis scoffed at the two of them. "And I'm doing this for your own good, Angeal. You don't have a place to stay and you don't have any money. It works out for all of us."

"Whatever you say, Genesis," Angeal said, leaning back against the headboard. "So what are we going to do? I imagine Xehanort is long gone from Destiny Islands now."

"You're right," Sephiroth said. "Even the boy that was his slave doesn't know where he is. He said Xehanort only kept him and the mermaid in one room and never talked much to them. Unless he was torturing them."

"Slave? What slave?" Angeal asked.

"He had a slave that he sent with us when we went to the cave. The boy knew a lot about your people, but that could be because he was the only one the mermaid would talk to," Sephiroth informed. "Other than that, Axel said the boy knows nothing. He's going to take him back to the mansion here and see if they can find any clues about his whereabouts."

Angeal sighed, running his hand through his hair. "So we don't even have a clue on where to start looking. Is Xemnas really going to help us find him?"

"Worry not, old friend," Genesis assured him. "It seems the Superior might have a bone to pick with this old man. I noticed how he stiffened every time someone said his name, and how his little lapdog would look at him with concern."

"I don't think calling Saix a lapdog will sit well with him," Angeal mumbled. "Just make sure he didn't hear you. I'm not going to be held responsible if he breaks all your bones."

"Whatever," Genesis said, waving his hand carelessly. "Are we going to sit here and continue rambling, or are we going to find this old man?"

Sephiroth chuckled at his friend's impatience. "We have to wait until Vexen gives the okay for Angeal to move. Angeal barely made it over here without bleeding to death. Plus, I'm sure he would like to see if the kids are okay. Your friend Leon just showed up a few minutes ago with two girls. One with black hair and one with red hair."

"Tell him to bring them here," Angeal said. He was relieved that Xion and Kairi were okay. Sephiroth's son had taken Sora to his house for clothes. He saw Leon and Sephiroth's comrade, Cloud carry to the two girls. They were set down on the edge of the bed and the two girls hugged him the minute he sat up.

"Angeal!" they both shouted at the same time.

"Are you okay?" Xion asked.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Kairi asked right after her.

"I'm fine," he answered. "It was just a minor injury. I'm glad you two are safe. Though I should scold you two and Sora for getting split up. I thought I told you three to stay together no matter what?"

Xion looked down at the floor, feeling ashamed. "Sora told us to go. I wanted to stay and fight, but…I wouldn't have been any help for him. Those things moved too fast for me. You know Sora has always been one of the fastest fighters in our group. I'm sorry, Angeal."

"And I've never been much of a fighter…," Kairi said, tearing up. "I used up all my magic power trying to fight those things off. I'm so sorry…"

"The three of you are safe, that's all that matters," Angeal told them. "But now, we're going to have train you two and Sora how to fight on land in a short period of time. Going back home is not an option right now. We're going to be staying at my friend's home until we stop Xehanort. That means you always have to have either myself, Leon, Zack, or my friend Genesis with you at all times. Understand?"

"Yes," both of the girls nodded and answered.

Angeal smiled, kissing their foreheads and hugged them close. "Good. That man in the red is my friend, Genesis Rhapsodos. He's letting us stay at his home until we can figure out what to do. He might seem a little intimidating and scary, but he's a good man."

"I am not scary!" Genesis said, narrowing his eyes. "Intimidating yes, scary no. Don't make these young ladies scared of me, or else you're sleeping outside."

"With the way he's acting, how can we not be scared?" Xion mumbled.

All Angeal could do was laugh, knowing it was going to be interesting to see how patient Genesis could be with teenagers, and how the teens could handle someone like Genesis.

* * *

><p>"This is your house?" Sora asked in amazement. "Wow, it's so big!"<p>

Riku didn't say anything about it, knowing that his house was just a normal sized two-story house, but to Sora it was big. He carried Sora out of the car, walking up to the front door. "I don't know if my brothers are here, but if they are. Just tell me if they harass you or anything and I'll beat them up."

"Umm, okay," Sora said, not really knowing what to say. He looked around once they were inside, seeing a few pictures on the walls and a silver-haired boy standing in front of them.

"Kadaj, out of the way," Riku snapped at his older brother.

His brother just smirked, shaking his head. "I always said you needed to get laid, but I didn't think you would bring the person here…and without clothes."

"Shut up," he growled, holding Sora tighter. "It's not like that at all. Remember that mission that dad and I went on with Axel and Cloud? This is one of the mermaids. That old man attacked them again and I found him at the beach."

"Hn, he doesn't look like a mermaid. Where's his fin?" Kadaj asked.

"Umm, my fin disappears and transforms into human legs when we go on dry land," Sora said nervously.

"So your legs will turn into a fin if you're in any water?" Kadaj asked.

Sora shook his head. "No, only salt water," he replied.

"I have to get him some clothes then take him back to Xemnas' tavern," Riku told his brother. "And be on the lookout for a suspicious old man. He's very powerful. I couldn't even land a hit on him."

"You couldn't hit water if you fell out of a boat," Kadaj said, rolling his eyes and walked back into the living room. "Hurry up and get some clothes on him. If you can find any in his size."

Riku walked up to his room, setting Sora on his bed then went to look for something that could fit the mermaid boy. His shirt alone reached down close to his knees. He saw Sora playing with the zipper of the shirt and even…sniffing it? "Are you sniffing my shirt?"

Sora blushed, feeling embarrassed that he was caught. He couldn't help that Riku smelled good, musky with a hint of the ocean. "Sorry," he apologized. "…You smell good."

The silver-haired boy laughed, grabbing a pair of shorts and a shirt that looked like it would fit the smaller boy. "Here, these might fit you. It's better than just wearing my shirt," he told him, holding out the clothes. "You do know how to put these on right?"

"Yeah," Sora replied, pulling the shorts on. "Just because I don't know how to walk real good doesn't mean I don't know how to do a few things. My cousin taught me how to dress for your world. But we never got clothes for me or my friends because we were always underwater. Angeal wouldn't let us go anywhere else. He was always afraid something would happen to us…and now my brother is gone along with our friends."

"How many mermaids did he capture the first time he went after you guys?" Riku asked.

"I know he got two of our friends. My brother went after them, but…he never returned home," Sora said sadly. "He couldn't walk good on land either so he might've been captured as well." He saw Riku frown, wondering why he was. "What's wrong?"

"…There was only one mermaid at his mansion when we went there," Riku told him.

Sora looked at him with wide, shocked eyes. "Only one…?" he asked quietly, seeing Riku nod. "What did the mermaid look like? Did you see it?"

"The mermaid was male and had golden fin that looked dull," Riku said. "I don't know what his face looks like since Xehanort made sure it was covered whenever we were there. But that was the only mermaid we saw. There were no others…I'm sorry." He saw Sora curling up and rested his forehead against his knees. The mermaid boy was obviously holding back his tears, but Riku knew he was mourning.

"So that means…my brother is probably dead," Sora told him. "One of my friends is dead and the other is suffering now."

"I still don't think your brother is dead," Riku said. "Remember what I told you in the car? If he's strong like you, then he's fine. Don't give up hope."

Sora smiled, nodding. "You're right, Riku. I won't give up finding my brother and friends until I see them alive or proof that they're dead. I gotta stay positive for them!" He blushed when he heard his stomach rumble. It was then he remembered he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and it was already evening.

Riku laughed. "Hungry, Sora?"

"A little," he replied. "I haven't eaten since this morning."

"Okay, let's get you something to eat," Riku said, picking him up. "We'll go back to the tavern and see what the plan is afterwards. What do you say?"

"Sounds good," Sora replied. He saw Kadaj talking to a strange device that he was holding up against his ear, remembering that Riku had done the same thing back at the beach. "Riku, what is that strange device that you hold against your ear?"

"You mean a phone? It's something we use to communicate with people that are far away," Riku answered.

"So that's a phone!" Sora said excitedly. "Leon told me about them, but he couldn't bring them underwater. Said the phone wouldn't work if he did that."

Riku laughed, walking to the dining room and set Sora down on a chair near the table. "Yeah, it's not waterproof so he wouldn't be able to bring it. Though I wonder who my brother is talking to…" He saw his brother walk into the kitchen, still talking on the phone. "Who are you talking to?"

Kadaj didn't answer, putting the phone on speaker. "Alright, Dad, talk," Kadaj said.

"Riku, don't come back over here," Sephiroth ordered his youngest son. "Coming back to the tavern this late is too risky since you have a mermaid with you. Angeal said it's okay for him to stay overnight with us."

"What…?" Sora asked in disbelief. "But what about my friends and my cousin? Leon will want me to stay near him."

"Sora," Leon's voice called out. "We have no choice. It's too risky for the boy to bring you back here. That old man, Xehanort is still out there. I promise we'll see each other tomorrow. Until then, please don't give Sephiroth and his family any trouble. Okay?"

"Okay," Sora said, nodding.

"Dad, are you sure about this?" Riku asked. "I can drop him off so he can be with his family."

"We're sure about this," Sephiroth answered. "I've told everyone to keep an eye for Xehanort. Xemnas has his group looking for any clues that might help us and Axel said he was going back to the mansion along with that boy to see if they can find anything that can help us find him."

"Alright. We'll see when you get home," Riku said, hanging up the phone then looked at Sora. He could tell the mermaid boy was a little scared of staying with a bunch of strangers. "Sora, are you really okay with this? Staying with me and my family?"

Sora nodded. "I'm sure," he said quietly. "You…You won't hurt me, will you?"

Riku took his hands into his and held them close to his heart. "I promise that I will never hurt you. Just trust me, okay?"

"Okay," Sora said, smiling. "Think we can eat now? I'm really hungry."

"Sure," Riku answered. "Do you need to eat something specific or can you eat anything?"

"Umm, I think I can eat anything," Sora told him. "I've only had fish. But I would like to try other food from the outside world if you don't mind."

"Alright, I'll make us something to eat," Riku said. "Just wait there."

Sora watched him pull out some things from a large thing that let out cold air. He was kinda glad that he would be staying with Riku tonight. The silver-haired boy intrigued him. He felt safer whenever he was near him. He heard the front door open and saw Riku's father walk in the kitchen along with Leon. "Leon!"

Leon ran over to him and hugged him. "You're safe," he said quietly. "I was worried I lost you too. Sephiroth told me it was okay for me to come with him so I could see you for myself."

"I'm fine, Leon," Sora said, smiling. "Riku kept me safe when I got out of the water. And he's going to give me some food."

Leon looked at the silver-haired boy that was cooking, something with meat. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you for keeping Sora safe."

"It was nothing," Riku said. "I'm guessing you're staying here with us?"

"Yes, it's too late for us to go back to the tavern," Leon replied. "I hope you don't mind."

"We don't," Sephiroth answered. "So long as you don't try to kill us."

"As long as no one tries to kill me or my cousin, I won't," Leon said. He saw the man staring him down and he stared back at him. He wasn't going to take a risk with his cousin's life, consequences be damned. "Is that understood?"

"Yes," Sephiroth replied.

"Can we eat now?" Sora asked.

* * *

><p>"There's nothing here," Axel said, looking through Xehanort's office with Roxas. They had been here almost all day, looking through every room for any clue on where the old man could be. "Let's go, we've looked everywhere and we found nothing. This guy really knows how to hide his tracks."<p>

Roxas ignored him, looking through the papers on the desk in Xehanort's office. He knew Xehanort spent a lot of time here when he wasn't torturing him or the mermaid. There had to be a clue of where Xehanort was possibly hiding. "Something has to be here," he said quietly.

"Well, there's nothing," Axel huffed. "Let's go before it gets too dark."

The blonde was about to give up until he saw a paper mentioning Twilight Town. He read all the information on it, seeing that Xehanort had a mansion there. "He took him there…," Roxas said.

"What?" Axel asked. "He took the mermaid where?"

"Twilight Town," he answered. "He has a mansion there. That's the only place he could've taken him."

"Are you sure? He could be anywhere by now," Axel said.

"Or I could be right here," Xehanort's voice said, coming from the window.

Roxas backed away towards Axel, glaring at the old man. "Where is he? What have you done to him?"

Xehanort just stared at them, summoning his keyblade. "It seems he managed to swim away," he said. "Well, it seems someone managed to break into my mansion and took him away. He could be getting tortured by this new person as we speak."

Axel growled, pushing Roxas behind him and summoned his chakrams. "You bastard. I'm gonna have a fun time burning you to death for what you've done to Roxas and that mermaid." He threw one of his chakrams at him, seeing nothing there when it hit the wall. "What the…?"

"AXEL!" Roxas shouted.

He looked back, seeing Xehanort holding Roxas to him with his keyblade at his throat. "Now now, you're about to let those emotions get you into a world of trouble. You don't Roxas to pay the price now, do you? It would be a shame to kill one as beautiful as him, wouldn't it?"

"Him beautiful? I've seen better," Axel said coolly. "You can kill him for all I care. He was only plaything that I wanted to use. If I had gotten what I wanted, I would've tossed him out the moment it was over. You can have him back now."

Roxas looked at the redhead with shocked eyes. Unable to believe that he'd actually trusted Axel. What an idiot he was! All those times that Axel had been nice to him…was only so that the redhead could use him then toss him out. "I hate you," he snarled at the redhead.

"I can live with that," Axel told him then looked at the old man. "Go ahead and take him. It's not worth fighting and risking my life over a plaything. Especially one that wouldn't even let me hold his hand."

The blonde lunged at him, summoning his two keyblades and slashed at him. "You bastard!" Axel blocked his attack with his chakrams and pushed him back. Roxas landed on the desk, managing to land on his feet. "I trusted you!"

Axel didn't even look like he felt sorry for him, staring at him with cold, emotionless eyes. "Looks like our date is off, huh? Such a shame, and I was really looking forward to seducing you into sleeping with me."

Roxas growled, breaking through the nearby window and fell to the ground. He felt the wind get knocked out of him, rolling onto his knees then ran as fast as he could. He had to get away from that place. Tears blurred his vision a little, but the feeling in his heart was killing him. He'd trusted Axel with his life and Axel had betrayed him. Now he knew he couldn't trust anyone on the outside world. He knew Xehanort was going to pay Axel to capture him unless he got far away. The side of his stomach was hurting. He put some pressure on it, feeling something sticky get on his hand and saw blood. "That bastard's weapons must've hit me when he pushed me away," he whispered to himself and continued to run.

He finally reached an area that should keep him safe even though there weren't that many people out right now since night time was coming. He stumbled to the beach, falling to his knees and used his keyblades to keep himself from falling face first into the sand. He knew someone would be able to read this…one of the mermaids would have to come by here. Breathing deeply, he focused all of his light into his index finger and started writing a message in the air. Only mermaids would be able to read this and sense the message here. If they read it then they could get away while they could. If Axel had betrayed him so easily then his comrades must be just like him. "I won't let you get them, Xehanort," he said as he finished the message then made it invisible. "I'll die first before you take another mermaid and torture it."

"Did the mermaid teach you that little trick?" Axel's voice asked from behind him. "Seems cool, but I'm sure some demons might be able to sense that."

Roxas smiled to himself. "Keep thinking that, Axel…that message reveals that you're a liar along with your comrades." He turned around to look at him. "And I won't let the remaining mermaids get killed just because you want money."

Axel just shrugged. "Doesn't matter," he said. "Xehanort paid me to bring you back to the mansion and that's what I'm going to do. So make this easy and don't fight. I'd hate to have to burn you."

"Go to hell!" Roxas shouted and ran at him. His movements were slow and sluggish, which he knew was a result from the blood loss. The redhead easily dodged his attacks and moved behind him, bringing the side of his hand to the back of his neck. Roxas fell to the sand, fighting to stay awake. He couldn't go back…he just couldn't go back to that life. "No…," he whispered as the darkness of sleep took over.

"Sorry, Roxas…but it's necessary," Axel said, picking up the blonde boy and headed back to Xehanort's mansion.

* * *

><p>So sorry for long update again! Everything has just been a little crazy at home, but yeah! I promise I'll update sooner! .<p>

So yeah, Axel seems to have betrayed Roxas…or did he? Now the story will get even more interesting. Plus, everyone's favorite redhead from Crisis Core, Genesis, is now here! Oh yeah, it's going to get a LOT more interesting! Mwahaha!:3

What will happen to Roxas? Why did Axel betray him? Who are the missing mermaid and the hooded person? What will happen if Sora and the others read that message Roxas left? So many questions, so little time to answer ;)

So do you like the update? Yes? No? Maybe so? Leave a comment!:D

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and next one coming soon!:)


	6. Chapter 6

Zack had been walking around the streets since five in the morning. He hadn't found anything that could lead him and the others to Xehanort. He'd went everywhere around Destiny Islands, finding nothing. Xemnas had told him that he had his group searching for any clues, but so far nothing came up. Then again, Xemnas had told him one of his men, Axel, hadn't reported in since he left yesterday after their confrontation. He remembered the blonde man saying something about Xehanort's slave. Maybe the slave was staying with Axel.

He walked along the beach, hoping to find something. Plus, he missed being in the water. Adjusting to life on dry land was going to be tough, especially for Sora, Kairi, and Xion since the three of them had never been on land before. He sensed something in the air. He looked around, seeing no one or anything suspicious, but he knew the magic that had been used.

Mermaid magic.

A mermaid had been here. He went to the area where he felt the magic coming from, sensing a message in the air. Using his own magic, he saw the message.

_Axel betrayed me…don't trust him or his friends…_

_Xehanort wants the Dark Crystal tears..._

_Please find us…_

_Twilight Town_

Twilight Town? Was that where Xehanort was? And who wrote this message? It had to have been one of their friends, or Sora's brother. He remembered one of the men, Cloud, saying that Xehanort had a slave that was with their friend that was captured. Could it be possible that their friends taught the boy how to write like this? He knew it was possible for other demons and some humans that knew magic could learn mermaid magic. Was it possible that the slave did this?

But there was thing for certain. They couldn't trust Axel and possibly Angeal's friend, Sephiroth. Whoever wrote this must've been in a hurry, probably trying to escape.

He had to let the others know. Especially Leon since him and Sora were staying at Sephiroth's house.

* * *

><p>Angeal woke up feeling a warm body snuggled close to his. He looked to his side, seeing his friend Genesis sleeping next to him with his head on his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile at him, remembering last night. His friend insisted, <em>commanded<em> him to sleep in the same room. And like Sephiroth said, Angeal couldn't say no to him. He was used to sleeping in the same bed at Genesis, and used to his cuddling. He tried to sit up only to hear a low growl. "Stop moving," Genesis ordered sleepily.

"Sorry," Angeal apologized, getting himself comfortable.

"Well I'm awake now, no thanks to you," Genesis complained, looking up at him.

Angeal just smiled, rubbing his back. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

"Stop apologizing," Genesis huffed. "I'm still mad at you for not telling me the truth. Did you really think that I would hurt you or the others if you'd told me the truth?"

"Genesis, please understand that my people did trust the few humans and outside demons that they knew and those people betrayed the moment they found out. I couldn't risk the young ones' lives. Please forgive me."

Genesis narrowed his eyes then grabbed his pillow and smacked him with it. "I said stop apologizing. I only wanted an explanation on why you didn't tell me. Stop feeling guilty. I expect you to do more than just apologize. You owe me, Hewley."

Angeal laughed, seeing the spark in his friend's eyes. "I know. I'll make it up to you once this is all done and over. We have to find the missing mermaid and stop Xehanort. Though I fear we might've lost two boys. Sora will be heartbroken if his brother is dead."

"Stop worrying," Genesis told him, rubbing Angeal's forehead. "You'll get wrinkles if you continue to stress yourself out like this. And that's something you don't want."

"You're worried about me getting wrinkles in the middle of all this?" Angeal asked teasingly.

"Someone has to worry about your appearance since you won't worry about it," Genesis pointed out. "Though…" He straddled his hips, smirking down at him. "I think you'll look sexy with or without wrinkles. But if we can prevent them then we should, don't you think?"

Angeal tried to ignore the feeling of Genesis straddling him. It wouldn't be the first time that they had been intimate, but right now wasn't a good time to do this. "Genesis…"

The redhead merely smirked, leaning down closer to him. "Yes, Angeal?"

He put his hands on his hips, gently nudging him off of him. "We can't do this. Not now…"

"Fine," Genesis huffed, slapping his hands away. "But I expect you to pay me back with your body, understand?"

"Yes sir," Angeal replied, leaning up to kiss his lips. It had been a long time since the two of them were together. Angeal had never bothered looking for anyone to settle down with, then again, he knew he was deeply in love with Genesis. But his friend wasn't looking to settle down just yet. He knew Genesis had never been intimate with anyone except him.

Genesis gave him a peck on the lips, lightly grinding against him. "Good. I've only wanted you and you haven't seen me in a long time. I missed you."

"I missed you too, Genesis," Angeal said quietly. "And I promise I'll make it up to you once this is all over. Okay?"

"I'm holding you to that promise," Genesis stated, sitting up. "Now let's get ready for the day. I imagine you'll want that boy Leon and his cousin to stay here?"

"Yes," Angeal replied. "They only stayed at Sephiroth's house because it was late and Xehanort could've attacked on their way. If you don't mind them staying here then I'd like for them to come."

"You know I don't mind," Genesis said. "Do you think that two of your young ones are dead?"

"One of them was Sora's older twin brother. He was very strong and very vicious when it came to him and Sora," Angeal explained. "But he didn't know how to walk on land real well. None of them did. But if what Sephiroth said was true and that there was only one mermaid, then it must mean Sora's brother is either out there or…"

Genesis frowned, seeing the defeated look on his friend's face. "Now now, you can't look defeated when you don't know the truth. What are these children's names?"

"They're names are-" Angeal heard his cell phone ring, seeing Zack's name on the screen. "What is it, Zack? Did something happen?"

"Oh, something happened all right," Zack said. "I found a message in the air written by a mermaid, or I hope it was a mermaid."

"What do you mean? A message written by a mermaid? Who wrote it?" he asked his student.

"Not so sure, but there are signs of a struggle here," Zack told him. "It looks like someone was dragged out of here. It's on the beach. The message said that someone named Axel betrayed them and not to trust his friends. And that Xehanort wants the Tears of Orichalcum then it just said Twilight Town."

"Twilight Town…," Angeal said quietly. "Does that mean Xehanort is there? Is that where he's hiding?"

"It's possible," Zack answered. "Whoever wrote this must've been in a hurry. Do you think one of the little ones that were captured might've taught that human slave that your friend, Sephiroth was talking about how to write with magic like ours?"

"He did say that the human boy spent a lot of time with the mermaid, so it's highly possible," Angeal said. "We'll head out to Twilight Town soon. Just come back over here and we'll discuss on what to do next."

"Alright," Zack said. "But what are you going to do about Sephiroth and the others? The message said not to trust them and that Axel betrayed whoever wrote this message."

"I'll talk to him. If there's one thing about Sephiroth that I know, he may have a good poker face but I can tell when he's lying," Angeal said. "Just go get Leon and Sora." He hung up, seeing that Genesis had already changed out of his night clothes.

Genesis pulled on his long red jacket, seeing the worried look on his friend's face. "Do you really think Sephiroth betrayed you?"

Angeal shook his head. "I doubt it. I'm more concerned about this Axel guy. Why would he work for Xehanort? Do you think he's paying him?"

"It's a high possibility," Genesis replied. "One can never tell with youngsters these days. We'll just ask Sephiroth about him and see what his motive could be."

"I just hope the human boy is okay," Angeal said quietly.

* * *

><p>The first thing he felt when he woke up was something wrapped around his neck. It wasn't heavy or choking him, but he knew it wasn't there for a fashion statement.<p>

"So, you're finally awake," someone said.

Roxas looked around, seeing Axel standing on the other side of the room. "You!"

The redhead just smirked at him. "Hi."

"Where am I?" Roxas asked.

"We're still in Destiny Islands," Axel answered. "Xehanort has his eye on a mermaid here."

"Why are you helping him?" Roxas asked. "There are other ways to make money. Torturing others is dirty."

Axel shrugged, not showing that he cared. "Yeah, but this is an easier way to make money. I hate that I have to do this to a cutie like you, but oh well. There are plenty of other blonde, blue-eyed cuties out there."

Both of them heard the door open, seeing Xehanort walk in. "Hello, Roxas. It's good to see that you're okay after your fight from last night, you had a few injuries that worried me."

The blonde snorted, rolling his eyes. "You worried about me? Don't make me laugh," Roxas sneered. "What is this thing around my neck? What did you do?"

"You need to be trained," Xehanort told him. "So I put a collar on you."

"I'm not some animal!" Roxas shouted.

The old man smirked. "Are you really?"

Axel frowned when he heard that. What did Xehanort mean? Roxas wasn't an animal…was he? Maybe he was some kinda demon. The boy clearly had some power in him, but he had yet to see it. "Just give it up, blondie," he said. "You're not going to get out of here. I'll hunt you down if I have to."

Roxas glared at him. "Shut up. I'll die first before I let you get me again."

"Save your energy for the next mission," Xehanort said. "I found the mermaid that might be the one that cries the Dark Crystals. And I want you to go with Axel to capture him."

"No," Roxas said. "I'm not going to capture one. Just kill me and get it over with."

Axel rolled his eyes, groaning. "Old man, I'll take care of this. Just go do what you gotta do," he said, watching Xehanort nod and leave them. He walked over to the blonde boy, kneeling down next to him. "You have no choice, Roxas. Help me capture one, or get tortured. Take your pick."

Roxas looked up at him, wondering why Axel betrayed him. Why? Was it because Xehanort was paying him? He felt so stupid for trusting him with his life. "Why are you doing this, Axel? Are you really doing this for money?" He hissed when he felt Axel grab him by his hair.

"Of course I'm doing this for money," he answered. "Sure, I was going to seduce you into sleeping with me, but after that…I usually toss people out. Then again, you are pretty cute. I might've kept you for a rare second night. You're a virgin, aren't you?"

The blonde boy blushed from hearing that question. "Why are you asking me that? What the hell does that matter?"

Axel smirked, caressing his cheek. "Hmm, maybe I can convince Xehanort into letting you go home with me for a week. I can show you all kinds of things…" He brought their lips together, feeling Roxas stiffen and trying to push him away.

Roxas kept trying to push him away, even when Axel forced his tongue inside his mouth. He curled his hand into a fist then punched the redhead in the stomach. The moment Axel pulled away, he ran. This would be his only chance to get away. He ran as fast as he could out of the mansion. He could hear Xehanort yelling after him. But he wouldn't let them get him this time. Last night they got him because he was injured and had to write a message to the other mermaids. But now was his only chance to get away, and if he ran fast enough, he could get to the mermaids and warn them of everything. Luckily for him, he was a fast runner and could probably make it to the town before Xehanort and Axel caught up to him.

Before Axel could start running after Roxas, something shocked him from behind and he fell to the ground. He saw Xehanort standing a few feet away from him with a keyblade. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Did you really think I was that stupid?" Xehanort asked, kicking him in the stomach. "I figured out that you were really doing all this so that you could tell your comrades where I am. Right?"

Axel smirked. "Yeah, you caught me. I didn't think Roxas would run away, but I guess some things don't go as planned. Why do you even want the mermaids? Want revenge on them or something?"

"Revenge? No. Something even better. The power of the Dark Crystal," Xehanort said.

"Dark Crystal?" Axel asked.

"Yes. One of them can cry a Dark Crystal. I must find that find mermaid," Xehanort told him. He knelt down next to Axel, forcing him to look up then put something around his neck.

Axel felt like he couldn't breathe and started feeling dizzy. "W-What did y-you…?"

"The collars you and Roxas are wearing connect you two, if you two are too far away from each other then you'll die. The fact that you haven't died yet shows that Roxas is close by," Xehanort explained.

If he could've snorted he would've, but he felt like dying slowly. Was Roxas feeling this right now? _Roxas, I'm so sorry…I didn't mean for this to happen._

"Knowing him…he's probably near the town. I'll go look for him while you lie there and try to live. I imagine Roxas isn't in any better condition than you are right now. He's probably not too far away from here. Then again, he is really fast. A fast swimmer and runner. I was lucky I managed to capture him." He walked away, leaving Axel there on the ground and gasping for breath.

_**Axel…?**_ It sounded like Roxas' voice talking in his head.

_**Roxas? I must be hearing things. Guess dying makes a person delusional.**_

_**I can't breathe…what did Xehanort do to me? I feel like I'm dying…**_Roxas said.

Axel could feel himself getting sleepy. _**The collar…he put one on me too. Said the collars connect us. If we're too far away from each other…we die.**_

_**No…I can't die yet. I have to find him.**_ Roxas said. _**Did you do this so that I would be forced to go back?**_

_**No. I didn't betray you, Roxas. I only acted like that so I would know where his other location is so I could tell the others. It was a last second decision, but I didn't think you would try to run. I'm sorry. Where are you?**_ Axel fought off the sleepiness. It was getting harder to breathe. He knew it was only a matter time before he and Roxas were dead unless they got near each other.

…_**At the beach where you found me last night. No one is here right now since it's still morning. I couldn't get any farther. I tried to get to this boat that I could use to go to the small island so I could warn the other mermaids. I'm near the water though I'm still getting wet since the waves are pretty strong today. **_Roxas said.

A dark portal appeared not too far from him and he saw Xehanort dragging Roxas by his hair and tossed him near him. He saw Roxas covered in a little sand and his clothes were wet, but he was okay and breathing. Axel could finally breathe too now that he and Roxas were close to each other. He looked up at Xehanort, seeing the amuse look in his eyes.

"Happy now?" Axel managed to say after a few breaths.

Xehanort didn't say anything and walked out of the room. Axel looked Roxas, brushing the boy's wet hair away from his face. Roxas was still trying to catch his breath and was shaking. He didn't want to be near Xehanort. Now, he had to stay. If he tried to leave, he would die along with Axel. A part of him still didn't trust the fire demon, but he had no other choice. "I have to find him…," he said quietly.

"We'll find him…together," Axel told him. "I'm sorry I made you think that I betrayed you, but I figured it would help us figure out his location in Twilight Town. But I'm sure Sephiroth and the others will find us…though I'm hoping your mermaid friends will believe them that they aren't traitors after reading that message you left." He noticed the boy shivering even more. "You cold?"

"This room isn't exactly warm," Roxas snapped. "And my clothes are wet and covered with sand."

"Take them off," Axel ordered. He saw the look of shock that Roxas gave him and sighed. "If you keep your clothes on, you'll get sick. You can wear my cloak until your clothes dry or if Xehanort lets you change clothes."

Roxas looked hesitant at first then eventually gave in and nodded. He knew it wouldn't do him or anyone else any good if he got sick now. "Turn around," he said, fighting the blush that was threatening to stain his cheeks. He saw Axel smirk and heard him laugh before he turned around. He made sure to keep an eye on the redhead as he pulled off clothes, mentally cursing himself that he hadn't put on any boxers when he stayed at Axel's home.

"Here," Axel said, still looking away and holding out his cloak. "It'll be big on you, but it's dry and warm. Better than your clothes for now."

"T-Thank you," Roxas said to him, putting the cloak on. Axel was right. It was a little big, but then again he reached up to Axel's chest. The bottom of the cloak touched the floor and he had to roll the sleeves up. It was better than wearing his clothes. At least with Axel's cloak it was warm. Plus, though Roxas would deny it if anyone asked, he liked that it smelled like the fire demon. A cinnamon smell with a slight musky scent.

Axel turned around, seeing the smaller boy wearing his cloak. He would be lying if he said Roxas didn't look cute in his cloak. It almost reminded him of a little kid trying on their parent's clothes. The cloak was obviously too long and he saw that Roxas had to roll the sleeves up a little. "You look cute."

"I'm not cute," Roxas said, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Yeah, you are. My cloak looks a little big on you," he said with a wink.

Roxas felt his cheeks heat up. "Shut up." He sat down, leaning against the wall. Axel sat down next to him. "What are we going to do?" he asked quietly. He knew Xehanort probably had hidden cameras in here like he did in every room.

"Not sure," Axel answered.

"I can't let him get his hands on another mermaid," Roxas whispered.

"What is he after exactly?" Axel asked.

"…He wants the Dark Crystals," Roxas replied. "He's looking for the mermaid who cries Dark Crystals. If he got his hand on a Dark Crystal, he would have a tremendous amount of power. Enough to take over the world."

"So he hasn't found the mermaid that cries these crystals yet, huh?" Axel asked.

Roxas shook his head, bringing his knees up and rested his chin on them. "No. I don't even know if any of the mermaids can cry those tears. There's not many of them of them left, only about six of them now."

"Only six? They're on the border of extinction," Axel said. "Did…people know about their tears?"

"Yes. Mermaids used to be hunted for their tears. Many could cry precious gems like diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. Others could cry rare gems like the Dark Crystals, Serenity Crystals, and Twilight Crystals. But because of all this, many mermaids were killed. Like you said, they're on the border of extinction," Roxas explained. "There are only two female mermaids. If Xehanort gets his hands on them…there's no hope left. The mermaid race will die."

Axel saw him shaking and wrapped his arm around him, kissing his forehead. "We'll find a way to protect them."

"Can I really trust you?" Roxas asked, looking up at him.

Axel smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I won't betray you. But you owe me three dates now."

"Three?" Roxas shouted. "You're the one who betray me! I don't owe you anything!"

"Can I at least get a kiss?" Axel asked.

"No," Roxas answered, looking away and smiled. As much as he hated to admit it, Axel always somehow managed to put a smile on his face in the worst of times.

"Fine, but you still owe me two dates for me saving you and using my bed. Okay?" Axel said.

"Fine, whatever," Roxas said, unknowingly scooting closer to the redhead. He touched the collar around his neck. "So we can't be too far apart or else we'll die."

"Yeah, looks like the old man has a dry sense of humor," Axel said.

Roxas laughed. "That he does."

Axel saw the younger boy yawn and held him closer. "Go to sleep, Roxy. I'll watch over you."

"Please don't betray me…," he said as he fell asleep.

Axel smirked at the sleeping boy. "I won't betray you, Roxas."

* * *

><p>He woke up in an unknown place. None of his surroundings looked familiar to him and he couldn't remember how he got there.<p>

"Relax," a voice ordered. He looked to where the voice came from, seeing a hooded figure standing near a small kitchen.

"Where am I?" he asked. He looked around seeing that it was a very small house, a one room cabin. The stove and oven were next to a door while a table was not too far from it. He looked down at himself, seeing that his fin was gone and he had his human legs now.

"You're at a cabin that I bought," the hooded figure told him. "I saved you from that old man."

"Saved me?" the male mermaid scoffed. "How do I know you're not going to torture me?"

The hooded male laughed in amusement. "Because, we grew up together. We played together with our brothers and friends, and gave our guardians a lot of headaches. And I made it very clear from the beginning, that you're mine and mine alone. I don't share very well."

The mermaid's eyes widened. He wanted to believe it was him, but he didn't want to get his hopes high. "Y-You're…?"

The hooded male pulled the hood of this cloak back, smirking at the mermaid. "I told you I'll always find you. No matter where you go…idiot."

* * *

><p>Leon stared at the message on his phone for a while, wondering what he should do. He'd received the message this morning from Zack, telling that Axel betrayed them and was now working with Xehanort. He didn't know what to think. He knew that Sephiroth and the others were telling the truth when they said they'd only been hired by Xehanort and weren't after them for personal gain. If there was one thing Leon was always good at, it was thinking things from every possible angle. He knew the signs of someone lying and hiding something. Though Sephiroth rarely showed any emotion, Leon could read his eyes. That Axel guy must've been the only to betray them. Even Angeal, who'd known Sephiroth for a long time, knew that his friend hadn't betrayed them.<p>

"Twilight Town…," he said to himself. "Whoever wrote that message must've been a mermaid. But then again, it's possible that whoever Xehanort held captive taught the human boy how to use magic."

"You okay, Leon?" Sora asked. He'd been sitting on the floor near his cousin. He was dressed in some of Riku's clothes though they were a little big on him.

"I'm fine," Leon answered. "We're going to have to teach you and the others how to walk. We have a clue on where Xehanort might be."

"You do? Where? Do you think we'll find my brother and the others?" he asked.

Leon shrugged. "Not sure, but it's better than nothing. We found out that Axel betrayed us and he's working with Xehanort now. I'm gonna talk to Xemnas. Axel works for him. He should know something about him."

"How long do you think it'll take to teach me, Xion, and Kairi how to walk? I don't wanna slow us down in our search. I have to find my brother," Sora told him. "I know he's not dead."

"I know he isn't," Leon said, ruffling his hair. If there was one thing he knew about his cousin, he was vicious. He was the complete opposite of Sora.

Whereas Sora smiled whenever he was happy, always tried to cheer people up, and was goofy. His older twin brother only smiled for two reasons, after he killed any demons that tried to attack their home and seeing his future mate happy. He never bothered to cheer people up and only insulted them and loved provoking others into attacking him so he could have a reason to fight. And unlike Sora's goofy personality, he was cunning, cruel, and sadistic. Sora would be sympathetic towards others' pain. His brother didn't have any sympathy for others. If anything, he could care less about anyone except for Sora and his future mate. His way of complimenting people would be to insult them and call them names.

"I know he's alive!" Sora said with confidence. "He's too mean and stubborn to die. Plus, he still has to marry his future mate!"

"The question is…where is he now? Sephiroth and the others said there was only one mermaid at Xehanort's mansion when they went there," Leon told him. "And you're brother wasn't any better at walking than you."

Sora frowned. "Yeah, but he was more determined to learn how to walk. His mate had been captured. You know he's always loved him. Not to mention he made it very clear that he was going to tear the old man apart. He's possessive."

"I think Xehanort has bitten off more than he can chew," Riku said as he walked up to them along with father and Cloud. "Your brother sounds tough."

"He is. He was the strongest out of the teenage group. Not to mention, Zack and I had a hard time defeating him in our sparring match. If he's as fast on land as he is in the water, I think Xehanort better hope that he doesn't get his hands on him," Leon said.

Riku walked over to Sora and helped him stand up. "Come on, let's start practicing," he told him. He made sure to stand in front of him and held his hands as he helped Sora walk. It was like a parent teaching their baby how to walk. Only it was a teenage boy needing to learn how to walk

Sora was kinda glad Riku was patient with him. Walking wasn't easy. All his life had been spent underwater and while he used his fin to maneuver underwater, he wasn't used to having put all of his weight on legs. He knew he had to learn how to walk, run, and jump quickly so that he could help the others find his brother and their friends. Plus, he had to protect himself and his friends on land. If his brother learned how to walk, run, and jump on his own then he could learn it too.

Sephiroth watched his youngest son help the brown-haired mermaid learn how to walk in their backyard. He could sense the other mermaid staring holes into the back of his head and knew something was wrong. "Why do you keep staring at me?"

"You're not going to betray us like your friend did, are you?" Leon asked bluntly, seeing no reason to beat around the bush. "Zack found a message on the beach, telling us of your friend Axel's betrayal."

Cloud snorted, crossing his arms. "Axel works that way. No one really knows what goes on in his mind. But he always "betrays" his friends and sides with the enemy. Of course he does it so he could get the information that he wants then he tells us. Or in his case, the Organization. Depending on which group he's working with at the time."

"You mean he's not on anyone's side?" Leon asked.

"Axel does whatever he wants and what he thinks is best," Cloud told him. "Whether it's orders or against orders, he'll do whatever he thinks is the best decision. But siding with the enemy is one way he gets information from them. So if it means handing over his comrades to them for a short period of time or until he gets the info he needs, then so be it."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Good grief. How did someone like that get into the Organization?"

"He won a bet against Xemnas," Cloud replied. "Which is why you never try to bet against him or have him do something that you'll owe him for. Because he will find a way to win and collect his debt."

"Onto a different subject…how long do you think it'll take for this boy and the two girls to learn how to walk?" Sephiroth asked.

Leon looked at his cousin, seeing him try to walk on his own without Riku's help only to fall down on his knees. But he could see the determination in them as he managed to stand on his own and tried walking again. "A week."

"You really think they'll be able to learn in a week?" Cloud asked him.

"Yes," Leon answered. "Because he has to find his brother."

* * *

><p>Mwahaha! I'm back! Sorry for the long update (again!). I kinda had some writer's block and I kept changing a lot of parts and going back and forth. But I'm here and here's the update!<p>

Now, updates MIGHT, I repeat, MIGHT be a little slower since I'm starting school Monday (finally!). But I will try my best to update sooner! Hopefully writer's block doesn't infect my creativeness! If it does, then hopefully boredom will help me write! That's how I managed to finish chapter.

So have you guys figured out who the mermaid and the hooded guy are yet? At least you know that Axel hasn't betrayed Roxas. Now Sora and the others have to learn how to walk! Hopefully they can learn quickly so they can save Roxas and Axel! Who do you think cries the Tears of Orichalcum?:D

Hope you liked the update! Next chapter coming soon!:D


	7. Chapter 7

It had been about four days since Xehanort kept them locked in here. Axel looked down at the sleeping boy on his lap. The room that Xehanort moved them to was better than the first room that he and Roxas had been originally locked in. This room at least had a mattress and a bathroom with a shower. He didn't know how much longer Xehanort planned on keeping them here. He brushed his fingers through Roxas' spiky blonde hair while he slept. He told him that Xehanort had hidden cameras set up everywhere in the house and that this room was no different. He'd gotten to know him better throughout these past four days though he knew Roxas was probably still hiding something from him. But he wasn't going to question anything since he knew Roxas had been through a lot and was still hesitant to trust him completely.

Though he had to admit that the blonde boy looked cute wearing his cloak. Roxas refused to wear his clothes since they still smelled like salt water and had sand on them. Xehanort refused to let him go get any other clothes so Roxas had been forced to wear Axel's cloak.

"Axel…?" Roxas said sleepily as he woke up.

Axel smirked at him. "I'm right here, Roxas."

Roxas looked up at him. "Has he come by yet?"

He nodded. "Yeah, came by early this morning. Left us some fish. You were serious when you told me that's all he gave you, huh?"

"Yeah. He never gave me any other food except that," Roxas admitted, sliding the tray with the food over to him. "Did you eat?"

"I ate a little bit," Axel answered, watching the blonde boy eat. "Go ahead and eat the rest."

"Hey, Axel…?" He blushed a little when he saw the redhead look at him. "Do you…Do you think after all of this is over, we can eat some beef stew? I-I really liked it. I'm kinda tired of eating fish…or any kind of seafood for that matter."

Axel laughed, wrapping his arm around his shoulders and kissed his forehead. "Sure, I'll have Yazoo make us some when this is all over." He kissed his forehead. "Have you always eaten seafood? Even before Xehanort captured you?"

"It's a long story," Roxas told him.

"I'm not going anywhere. You can tell me," Axel said.

Roxas bit at his lower lip nervously. Even though Axel had been deceiving Xehanort, he still had trouble trusting him. "I can't tell you yet…"

"I understand," Axel said quietly. He looked at the blonde, brushing his fingers through his hair.

"Please don't be mad at me," Roxas said. "I-I know you were only doing that to get closer to Xehanort, but-"

The fire demon put his finger on his lips, shushing him. "Don't worry about it." He smiled when he saw Roxas bite at his lower lip again. "If you keep biting at your lower lip, I'm going to kiss you."

Roxas looked at him with wide eyes, blushing badly. "Stop kidding around."

Axel leaned his face close to his until their foreheads were touching each other. "Fine, I'll be serious." He brought their lips together, holding Roxas close so that he couldn't get away. He felt Roxas' hands on his chest, trying to push him away but he only pulled the little blonde closer and continued to ravish his lips.

Roxas gasped when he felt Axel's tongue enter his mouth. The kiss from last time had been quick since he'd punched Axel to escape, but now Axel was making sure to hold onto his hands. _**Axel, stop…**_

_**Do you really want me to stop?**_ Axel asked in his mind.

_**He's watching us.**_ Roxas said, gasping when he felt Axel kiss his way down to his neck. _**Stop…please.**_ He felt Axel pull the zipper of the cloak down to his stomach and kissed down to his chest.

_**I don't care if he watches. It's not my fault you're irresistible.**_ He looked at him, seeing the kiss swollen lips, the cloak was open and showing his smooth chest. "You look hot, Roxy." He kissed down his chest while pulling the zipper on the cloak all the way down and pushed it away. Roxas' face got redder and looked at him with nervous eyes.

He started kissing the blonde boy's neck while gently running his along his body. He'd never felt such soft skin before. It also didn't help that Roxas smelled good, like the sea breeze. "Please stop," Roxas pleaded.

Axel looked up at him, noticing tears in the blue eyes. He also noticed him shivering. Axel immediately pulled the cloak together to cover him. He'd done many horrible things in his life, but he always swore to himself that rape would never be one of them. He should've known that Roxas wouldn't want to do this. The boy was too pure, too innocent. And this wasn't exactly the ideal place to make love in. "I'm sorry, Roxas," he said, holding him close.

Roxas shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let it go this far…and I don't know what to do."

"You really are a virgin," Axel chuckled, kissing his forehead.

"Shut up," Roxas said, smacking his chest. He didn't know why, but he felt a little jealous at the thought of Axel sleeping with other people. "Sorry I'm not experienced like most people you've slept with."

He smirked, kissing him again. "Come on, don't pout like that. You're cuter when you smile. And I don't know if I can hold myself back if you keep that up." He laughed when he saw Roxas narrow his eyes at him. "Hey, I never said I wasn't a pervert. And it's your fault for being cute and sexy at the same time. I can't help it that you give me a hard on."

Roxas' eyes went wide and his cheeks turned red. "I-I make you…hard?"

Axel gave him a peck on the lips, trying his best to keep from kissing him any further down. "Yes. The moment I saw you, I wanted you. I've seen some hot blondes before, but you're by far the hottest and cutest blonde I've ever seen. Plus, your eyes are something else." He jumped a little when he felt Roxas punched his arm. "What?"

"I'm not some dumb blonde that jumps into bed with anyone," Roxas said, looking away with a blush staining his cheeks. He hated being compared to other people that Axel might've been with.

"I know you're not," Axel whispered against his ear, licking it. "But I won't touch you if you don't want me to."

"Not now," Roxas told him. "I can't…"

"You promised to someone?" Axel asked, seeing Roxas shake his head. "Then what…?"

Roxas shook his head. "I just can't." He didn't look at the redhead as he zipped the cloak back up. "So please don't force me…" He looked away, blinking back tears. He felt bad that he was leaving Axel unsatisfied, but he couldn't just trust the fire demon just yet.

Axel frowned, forcing Roxas to look at him and kissed his tears away. "Hey, don't worry about it. I understand you're not ready. Like I said, I'll stop when you want me to." He held the boy close to him. "Once this is all over, I'll show you that you can trust me."

The blonde boy nodded, scooting closer to him. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>Cloud watched as Riku continued to help the mermaid boy, Sora, learn how to walk. The two of them had gotten up as early as possible and stayed up as late as they could. He could tell Sora was determined to learn how to walk as soon as possible. "He's getting better," he told Leon. The older merman was always not too far away from his cousin. He would be outside watching them all day and even help out when he could.<p>

"Yes, he is," Leon said coolly.

The blonde held back a smirk. He couldn't help but remember the first time he laid eyes on the mermaid. His enchanting voice and those haunting gunmetal blue eyes. Though he wasn't much of a talker himself, Cloud knew the mermaid was only acting like this to push him away. "Not one for words, are you?"

"No," Leon replied, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

"And to think, you looked so friendly when you were singing," Cloud said.

Leon felt his cheeks heat up a little at the reminder. How he hated singing. It was basically one thing all mermaids were good at naturally. He didn't like it, but it was something that could be used as a weapon. "Mermaids are not friendly. Many people make that mistake about us. Everything about us is a weapon, from our looks to our voices."

"So you guys are trained to seduce people," Cloud stated.

The brunette growled at him. "Call it what you will. We have to do anything to keep us alive. I'm responsible for Sora, Kairi, and Xion. I've already lost one cousin and two little ones. I can't lose the three of them."

"Two little ones? You had kids?" Cloud asked.

"No," Leon replied. "We lost two kids that were around Sora's age. When they were taken, my cousin went after them. I haven't seen them since. And from you told, there's only one mermaid alive. So that means my cousin is dead and I've lost one of those two."

"I see…are you the only mermaids left in the whole world?" Cloud asked.

Leon nodded, getting a distant look in his eyes. "Yes. I lost my parents when I was little. Sora's parents died shortly after he was born. We're the only ones left." He made sure to look away so Cloud wouldn't talk to him anymore. He needed to focus on finding Xehanort, not this man that he'd seduced. "Have you found any information about Xehanort's whereabouts?"

"No," Cloud replied. "Axel is missing along with the boy. His brother, Reno, is looking for him now along with Sephiroth's son, Yazoo. They're gonna check out Twilight Town and see if they can find anything."

"Hn." Leon watched as Sora raced Riku, seeing that his cousin was indeed getting better and better at walking and running.

"Ha! I beat you, Riku!" Sora yelled in victory.

"That's because I let you win," Riku said with a smirk. "But good job either way." He sat down on the grass, watching Sora jump around in victory. In four days, Sora was able to walk and run pretty well on his own though he still had his clumsy moments. Riku had been helping the whole time. They would get up as early as possible and stay up late until Sora said enough. He had to admit, the mermaid boy was determined to get walking down in order to save his friend. "Think you've done enough for today?"

"No way!" Sora shouted. "I need to make I can walk and run good before I can go after Xehanort! Makes me wonder how my brother was able to do this all on his own…I mean, I have a hard time even with your help and he had to learn this all by himself. I have to hurry. Do you think I've gotten walking and running down?"

Riku nodded, looking at the younger boy. "Yeah. Now we just need to work on your jumping. That can be a bit tough, especially if you're in a fighting situation and you need to dodge an attack. Sometimes, jumping is the only way to dodge it. So let's start working on that."

"Okay!" Sora said, following Riku. He looked up at the sky, seeing a storm coming their way. _Don't worry, I'll find you, brother…if it's the last thing I do…_

* * *

><p>Okay! Sorry this update was super short…but I've rewrote this thing who knows how many times without making the story move too fast. I felt the half of what I originally wrote should be used for the next chapter instead of this one so the story doesn't seem like it's moving too fast.<p>

Sorry for MEGA slow update, school kept me busy but good news! I'll be graduating from beauty school on Monday! Yes, believe it or not, beauty school is just as time consuming as any regular school. Now that I'm graduating, hopefully I can update this story faster.

So, did anyone ever figure out who the mystery mermaid and the mystery guy are from the previous chapter? Take a guess. ;)

See ya next chapter!:D


	8. Chapter 8

Three weeks.

Three weeks of being stuck in this room.

Three weeks of wondering what was going to happen to him and Roxas.

Somehow Axel managed to keep track of how long they had been in there. All Master Xehanort would do was take Roxas away for a few hours every day and leave food for them to eat. Fish. A lot of fish. Now he understood why Roxas was sick of it. The blonde would only eat enough to keep his strength up, but he wouldn't eat much. And now Axel was doing very much the same thing. He would kill to have some of Yazoo's cooking right now. He wondered if he and his brother were still looking for him and Roxas. His comrades had to have been looking for him too…right?

He only hoped they didn't think he betrayed them. Riku knew this is how he got certain things done and Xemnas had always called him the wild card of the Organization.

_What are we going to do?_ He thought to himself. Master Xehanort hadn't said anything to them. He looked down at the little blonde sleeping next to him. Roxas was feeling weak after whatever Xehanort did to him. He would never talk about it though Axel had a feeling Xehanort was torturing the poor boy. He would try to ask Roxas what happened, but the blonde boy would tell him to drop it or say nothing happened. The only thing he did know was that Xehanort wouldn't take him too far away since they still had the collars on. "I wish you would let me in…," he whispered as he brushed his fingers through the blonde spikes.

Roxas' eyes fluttered opened, looking at Axel. His head was resting on the redhead's lap and felt the warm fingers brushing through his hair. He looked up at him. "Hey."

Axel smirked down at him. "Hey, feeling okay?"

The blonde nodded, nuzzling his face against his chest. "I'm okay."

"Wanna tell me what Xehanort has been doing to you?" Axel asked him.

"No," Roxas replied, trying not to wince as he sat up. His back was killing him since the wounds hadn't healed. All of the cuts were stinging with his shirt clinging to them. "Can you help me up?"

The redhead stood above him with his arms crossed and a grimace on his face. "Only if you tell me what's been happening to you," he said. "I don't want you to lie to me anymore. Have I not proven myself trustworthy yet?"

Roxas looked up at him with desperate eyes. "Axel, I do trust you. But trust me when I say you're better off not knowing what's happening to me," he said. He tried to stand up, but his knees gave out. Axel caught him and picked him up. "Put me down!" The older man just sat him on the next to the sink in the bathroom and yanked the cloak off. Roxas gasped and tried to keep him from pulling his t-shirt off. "Stop it, Axel! What are you doing?"

"Either you take it off or I'll tear it up," Axel growled at him, holding his arms. He saw the deeps cuts along the slender arms. "What the hell happened to you?" The younger boy didn't say anything and slowly pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside, revealing long deep cuts all over his chest, torso, and back. It was obvious none of them were close to healing and some were still oozing blood. Axel's heart couldn't help but break at the sight of Roxas like this. "Did Xehanort do this to you?"

Roxas nodded, trying his best not to have any tears in his eyes. "Yes."

"Why?" Axel asked, slowly pulling the boy's pants down. He saw even more cuts along his legs and hips. "Dammit, why did he do this to you? What does he want?"

"Answers that I don't have," Roxas replied. "He thinks I'm lying, but I really don't know anything."

"Next time he comes in, I won't let him get you," Axel hissed, bringing his right arm up to his lips.

Roxas looked at him with wide eyes when he licked at the cuts on his arm. "A-Axel? What are you doing?" He tried to pull his arm away but the older man held it in a firm but gentle grip. "You shouldn't be doing that." The stinging from the cuts slowly began to fade away as he continued though he wanted to pull his arm away.

Axel chuckled as he continued to lick at the wounds. "My saliva can heal this. If you wait any longer you might risk getting an infection and getting sick. And I don't want you sick." He licked the rest of them along his right arm, seeing them slowly heal then moved onto his left arm. He could see the younger shiver with each lick. "Feel better?" he asked as he finished healing his left arm.

"Yes," Roxas answered. He saw Axel lower his head to chest. "What are you doing…?" Axel only winked at him before giving him a long lick along his chest. "Axel!" He tried to push him away but the fire demon held him still.

"Do you want me to tie you down?" he asked as he flicked his tongue over his nipple. "I'll do it if I have to. So sit still." He continued to lick at the cuts all over his chest and torso without stopping until his entire upper body was healed. Most of the cuts were slowly healing, leaving smooth, unblemished skin in its wake. Now all he had to do was heal the cuts on hips, thighs, and legs. "Do you trust me? I won't do anything you don't want me to do."

Roxas looked at him, seeing if there was any deception in his eyes. He saw none. His teeth tugged at his lower lip then he nodded after a few seconds. "I-I'm trusting you, Axel," he whispered. He felt vulnerable being naked while the older man was fully dressed. Not to mention it was getting a little tough for him not to get hard. He couldn't deny his attraction to Axel. And with him doing this, it was becoming more difficult. Axel started licking at the wounds on his calves, trying his best not to shiver from the pleasure of it. "Axel…" He felt a little uncomfortable as Axel moved up towards his thighs.

The redhead looked at him as he finished licking at the cuts on his knees. "Trust me," he encouraged. He licked at the cuts on his left thigh, trying to not look any further. Once he got to the inner thigh he stopped. He could hear Roxas' heart beating fast. "Are you okay?" The blonde boy just nodded and looked at him with wide blue eyes. "Do you want me to heal your hips?" Another nod. He healed the cuts along his hip then moved onto the other hip then down to his thigh. Once he was done healing him, he kissed his forehead. "See? It wasn't that bad. And I even closed my eyes."

"T-Thank you," Roxas said.

Axel's face went from being content to serious. "Why didn't you tell me he did this to you?"

"I don't know," he said quietly. "I was scared you might…" He shook his head. He didn't want to say it and hurt Axel's feelings.

"Scared I would take advantage of you?" Axel finished for him. He cupped the younger boy's chin and looked straight into his eyes. "I've done a lot of bad things in my life, murder included. And I don't feel guilty for doing so. But I've never and never will commit rape. Yeah, I may want you so bad that my pants feel way too tight, but I will never do that to you, Roxas."

Roxas' face went red when he heard Axel say that. How could such a good looking man want him? In his eyes, Axel was almost perfect. "I-I'm sorry, Axel. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"It's okay," Axel assured him. He gave him a playful wink and smirk. "But now you owe me a kiss."

"What is it with you and making me owe you dates and now kisses?" Roxas asked.

Axel shrugged. "Like I said, you're cute. Who wouldn't want to go on a date with cute blonde like you? Plus, your lips look pretty luscious." He leaned down to kiss the corners of his lips. "So can we get the kiss out of the way? It's getting pretty hard to resist."

The younger boy nodded, wrapping his arms around his neck. "I don't mind," he whispered.

The redhead didn't hesitate, bringing their lips together. Goodness the boy's lips were still soft after all the abuse he'd been through. And he tasted sweet despite all the fish they'd eaten for the past few weeks. He deepened the kiss, shoving his tongue inside Roxas' mouth. They both fought for dominance though Roxas soon gave in as Axel continued to ravish him. His hands moved up and down the sides of his torso, feeling nothing but soft skin now that the cuts were gone. The boy's skin was so soft that Axel couldn't resist running his hands over him. He moved onto touching his hips, pulling them close to his own so that he could feel how hard he was. Roxas gasped as he felt the material of Axel's pants touch his bare skin was rubbing against it. Axel started rubbing his hips against the smaller boy's. He pulled away from his kiss swollen lips, seeing that his eyes were slightly glazed over with lust. "Roxas."

Roxas pulled him back, kissing him heatedly. He didn't know why, but he didn't want this to end. "Please, Axel," he said against the older man's lips. "I…I want this."

Axel pulled away, looking at him. Did he hear right? Did Roxas really say what he wanted to hear? "Roxas? Are you saying that…?"

The blonde boy nodded, looking him straight in the eye. "Yes. I'm trusting you. I want you."

If they had been anywhere but here, Axel would've taken him right then and there. But they were being held prisoner with cameras watching them, Roxas had been tortured, and there was no way of knowing if they would ever get out. He really didn't want to take Roxas in this place for their first time. He would prefer if they were in his room, on his bed, and no cameras watching them. "Roxas…," he said quietly, resting his forehead against his. "I can't."

Roxas looked at him in disbelief. "Why?"

He shook his head. "I don't want your first time to be in a place like with that old fart watching us from his cameras. You deserve to have your first time be in a place with candles, silk sheets, and…not me. I'm not good for you."

Roxas had tears in his eyes, biting at his lower lip. He gently held Axel's face in between his hands and gave him a tender kiss. "Axel…that's why I want you. No matter how perverted you've act, you still look out for me and my best interest. You pretended to betray me in hopes of getting closer to Xehanort. But…I might not live much longer."

"What!?" Axel shouted. "Why won't you live much longer?"

"Xehanort said he'll kill me to get what he wants if he has to," he said. He gave him a sad smile. "I'm no longer of any use to him. So he sees no reason to keep me."

Axel hugged him close. "I won't let anything happen to you," he said quietly. "I'll keep you safe. I won't let that man do anything to you." He picked him up by his hips, forcing Roxas to wrap his legs around his waist and kissed him feverishly. He walked back to the room, tossing Roxas on the mattress while he started pulling off the rest of his clothes.

Roxas bit as his lower lip as Axel's body was revealed to him. He could see that the older man was slender, but he did have lean muscles. His eyes went further down and went a little wide from seeing his cock. It was well-proportioned with the rest and it was long and thick. Part of him was scared of doing this and knowing it would hurt while the other part of him wanted this and not care about the pain that would come. He felt Axel push three fingers near his mouth, looking at him in question.

"Get them good and wet," Axel ordered. "I don't want you to bleed and I don't have any lube on me. And I'm sure as hell not asking that old man for some." The younger boy started sucking on them eagerly, making him groan. It was taking everything in him to not pound the boy into the mattress until they passed out, but he wasn't going to do that. He was going to make sure he did this right. Once his fingers were wet enough he pulled them away and slowly inserted one into Roxas' entrance. The blonde moaned, moving his hips against his finger and nearly squeezed the circulation out of his fingers when he inserted the second one. "Damn, your ass is greedy."

"Shut up," Roxas whined as he moved against the fingers inside him. Because of his life before this, he'd never bothered to touch himself in any kind of sexual way so his body was sensitive to all of the sensations Axel was producing. The two fingers had felt uncomfortable, but now they felt good. He nearly came when Axel pressed them against his sweet spot a few times. "Axel!"

"Shh, I'm almost done," he said as he sucked on his neck while he inserted the third finger. He pressed his fingers against his prostate, loving the moans and sounds that Roxas made. Once he thought he was stretched enough, he pulled his fingers out and positioned himself in between his legs. "Roxas, you know exactly what I'm about to do. Are you sure about this?"

Roxas looked up at him then down at their bodies, eyes widening at seeing Axel so close to being inside him. Was he ready for this? This was far from the ideal place, but did he trust the man above him with his body? Axel had been gentle so far. "Will…will you stop if I ask you to?"

The older man smiled and kissed him gently. "Of course," Axel assured him. "If you want me to stop, I'll stop."

"Okay, then I trust you," Roxas said.

Axel didn't hesitate, thrusting inside the smaller boy before he could change his mind. Roxas cried out and dug his nails into Axel's back, trying to blink back tears. Axel kissed the few tears that managed to slip, letting Roxas adjust to him. "Shh, it's okay, Roxy. I'm sorry for going in so fast."

Roxas shook his head. "I-I'm okay," he said. He rocked his hips a little, moaning when he felt Axel's length brush against his prostate. "You can move now."

Axel started moving, going at a slow, steady pace so that Roxas wouldn't be uncomfortable. If anything, the boy felt like heaven. The way he was moaning and moving under him like he couldn't get enough was making Axel crazy with lust. He could hear Roxas encouraging him to go faster and a little harder and before he knew it, he had Roxas' legs over his shoulders and was pounding into him like there was no tomorrow. The boy's body was getting tighter and tighter around him. "Roxas!"

The younger boy was gasping with each thrust, trying to his best not to moan too loud. At this point, he could care less if Xehanort was watching them from the cameras because all he could focus on was the pleasure Axel was giving him. He couldn't stop his moans from being louder once Axel started stroking his cock. "Axel, don't!" he said, trying to push his hand away. "I-I'll..." He couldn't finish his sentence when he felt Axel thrust into him even harder.

"I'm close," Axel grunted, thrusting even harder and stroking Roxas' cock faster. Normally, he would've been able to go on for a while longer. But Roxas was just so damn hot and plus he couldn't risk Xehanort coming in here. But he swore in his mind that once they were out of here, he would take his time making love to him. "Cum, Roxas."

Roxas came with a scream, releasing in Axel's hand and felt his body tighten around the older man. He felt Axel still thrusting into him, gasping when he felt him release inside him a minute later. "Axel…," he whispered. Axel looked down at him and gave him a tender kiss while brushing his hair back.

"You're mine," Axel declared, kissing his forehead.

The blonde boy's eyes widen. "B-But I thought…?" Wasn't he just another one night stand to Axel?

Axel shook his head. "No, you're mine now," he said, caressing his cheek. "You're not like anyone else I've ever been with. I want you, Roxas. And I'll keep you safe from Xehanort."

He wanted nothing more than to be Axel's, but he knew it would never happen. Even if he made it out alive, they could never be together. But right now, he could at least pretend. "Is that why you came inside me?"

Axel grinned and nodded. "Yeah. First time I've ever done that." He kissed his way up from his chin to his ear. "And I plan to do it again once we're out of here." He pulled out and laid to the side, pulling Roxas close to him. "How do you feel?"

"A little sore," he admitted. "Is that normal?"

"Yeah, sorry if I got a little rough with ya," he apologized, resting his hand on his hip. "You should get some sleep."

Roxas nodded, resting his head on Axel's shoulder and his hand over his chest, feeling the strong heartbeat under the warm skin. "What if Xehanort saw…?"

"Then I hope he got a good show out of it," Axel said with a smirk. "Don't worry about it."

Roxas smiled, feeling his eyes close. "I won't…"

* * *

><p>"How is Sora doing?" Angeal asked as he walked up to Leon.<p>

"He's gotten a lot better," Leon replied as he watched Sora back roll away from Riku's attack. "What about Xion and Kairi?"

"They're a lot better too. I think it's because they want to be able to get far away from my friend Genesis whenever he's on a rant about Loveless. He can go on for hours about it and they were victims to one of his four hour rants," Angeal told him.

Leon snorted. "I don't see how you put up with him."

"You'll put up with anything for the one you love," Angeal stated.

"So then why did you not tell him the truth?" Leon asked.

Angeal's face was stoic as he thought about it. Yes, he didn't tell Genesis or Sephiroth the truth about him. A part of him had always been afraid of what they would do. He'd seen so many of his people trust outsiders and had been hunted down for it. And with Leon and Zack being teenagers and Sora and the others being little kids, he couldn't risk telling them. "I had to protect all of you. I couldn't risk your safety."

"Did you really think he would try to kill us if you had told him?"

"I'm not sure," Angeal said quietly. "But it was a risk I wasn't going to take."

Leon didn't say anything. "I'm going for a swim," he said. "Being in a human environment for this long is making me feel…"

"I know the feeling," Angeal said, patting his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on Sora for you. Just don't be out too long, okay?"

"Alright," he replied.

* * *

><p>Cloud sighed as he walked to Sephiroth's house. So far there had been no word from Reno and Yazoo. The last he heard was that they had made it to Twilight Town and were investigating around. As he walked past the bluffs, he saw a silhouette at the edge. "What the…?" He walked closer, seeing the pile of clothes next to the man. Before he could get a good glimpse at him, the man jumped into the ocean. He ran to the edge of the rocks. "No!"<p>

Leon's head popped up out of the water, looking up at him with those haunting gunmetal blue eyes. "What are you shouting for? I could hear you from inside the water."

"What are you doing jumping in the ocean?" Cloud asked.

Leon sighed, rolling his eyes. "I wanted to go for a swim. Being in the outside world for three weeks was making me feel uneasy."

"You shouldn't just undress in public. Anyone could have seen you or your clothes could have gotten stolen," Cloud scolded. "What would you have done then?"

"Wait here in the water until someone noticed I wasn't around," Leon replied, resting his arms on a nearby rock. "Now can I go for a swim or do you want to play 20 Questions?"

Cloud shook his head, sitting down next to his stuff. "I'll stay here and keep watch. You mermaids can't go anywhere alone since Xehanort is still out there. He could be here right now and none of us know it."

The mermaid rolled his eyes again and backed away. "Whatever. I'll be back when I feel like it." He went back underwater and swam away. That demon was always frustrating him in some way. Though at times they did have good conversations, but other times Cloud seemed awkwardly silent to the point that Leon didn't even know what to talk about with him. He was to quietness, but the quietness with Cloud was always awkward. Though he was a good sparring partner.

_Stop thinking about him, Leon._ He told himself mentally._ Just take this time to relax before you take the weight of your responsibilities on your shoulders again. Sora needs for you to be strong._

He continued swimming around the area to clear his thoughts. Letting the water take away his problems for a short period of time.

* * *

><p>Riku and Sora's weapons clashed as they sparred. The silver-haired boy had to admit that Sora had gotten a lot better at walking and maneuvering around in battle in these past three weeks. He didn't think Sora would be this good. The smaller boy pushed him back and slashed at him. Though he managed to dodge the strike, he lost his footing and fell to the ground. Before he could stand, Sora held his weapon at his throat. "Surrender?" Sora asked playfully.<p>

He smirked. "For now," he replied, sitting up when Sora pulled his weapon away. "You did great, Sora. You've gotten a lot better. I don't think we'll have to worry too much about you if Xehanort ever comes after you on land."

"Thanks," Sora said as he sat down next to him. "We're just waiting for Axel's brother, Reno and your brother Yazoo to tell us if Twilight Town is where he's at, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, they arrived there this morning. So far they haven't found anything, but who knows what they'll find."

"Are you sure…Axel didn't betray you or anything?" Sora asked.

"I'm sure," Riku answered. "He's known for always doing that whenever he thinks the situation calls for it. Axel is a good guy. It's like having another brother whenever I'm with him."

Sora smiled as he thought of his twin brother and their missing friends. "My twin brother was possessive of one of our friends. He always said that our friend was his and only his, and that anyone who tried to take him away could expect to be gutted. Our friend was always scared when we were little, but as we got older and into our teens, he returned my brother's feelings. They're complete opposites of each other. My brother was always…dark."

"Dark? As in dark skin or something?" Riku asked with a chuckle.

"No. But he hardly ever smiled unless he killed a demon or if he was causing pain to someone, whether it be physically or verbally. I guess that's why our friend was a good match for him. He was always smiling, laughing, and everything my brother wasn't. His twin brother never really liked him and my brother together, but he knew they were happy together."

"Sounds like your brother knew from an early age that your friend was always meant to be his," Riku stated. "Like a soul mate or something. Two halves of a whole. Light and darkness."

Sora nodded, looking up at the sky. "Yeah, that's what Angeal would say. Said that all of us have someone like that out there. He always seemed sad whenever he would talk about stuff like that. Makes me wonder if he was thinking about that man, Genesis. He seems happier with him now."

"Now that you mentioned it, Genesis does seem mellower with your guardian around," Riku said. "Usually I have to hide to avoid one of his rants about Loveless. How my father and Angeal survive those rants is beyond me. I can barely stand two minutes of it."

Sora laughed. "You do just about anything for the people you care about."

"Tell me about your brother and your two missing friends. You never told me their names," Riku said. "Are you all related in some way since you're the only ones left?"

"No," Sora replied. "My only family left is my brother and Leon. Kairi has no family left. Zack and Xion still have each other and Angeal doesn't have any family left either. It's just us left, along with our two friends. But one of them might be dead since you said you only saw one mermaid…"

"I'm sorry," Riku apologized. "I only saw that one mermaid. Xehanort's slave boy, Roxas was the one taking care of-"

Sora's eyes widen at the name and he sat up immediately. "Wait a minute! Did you say Roxas?"

Riku looked at him confused and nodded. "Yeah. Roxas. Spiky, blonde hair. Blue eyes. Quick to snap at people though he's quiet most of the time."

"Are you sure his name was Roxas?" Sora asked. "Please tell me that was his name!"

Now he was even more confused. Did Sora know Roxas? The boy was a human. "Yeah. That's his name."

Sora started jumping around and shouting in joy. "Thank goodness! That is great news!"

"How do you know a human boy when you've never been out of the ocean?" Riku asked.

Before Sora could answer, Angeal's voice called to them. "Sora! Riku! Reno just called. They've found Xehanort's location. We leave in an hour."

* * *

><p>Axel and Roxas had been resting since earlier in the day. The younger boy was still sore and tired. Axel stayed lying next to him, not wanting to wake him up. He brushed his fingers through the spiky, blonde hair and watched him sleep to pass the time. He was easily amused by the boy's face as he slept when he smiled or frowned.<p>

Roxas stirred, slowly opening his eyes and saw Axel staring at him. He felt his cheeks heat up and looked away from those piercing green eyes. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Because you look cute when you're asleep," Axel stated. "There was nothing else to do, except put my pants back on while not moving you off of me."

The blonde huffed and playfully glared at him. "Why am I naked? That's no fair."

"What's not fair is you tempting me with your bod-" Xehanort suddenly opened the door and walked in. Axel made sure to keep Roxas behind and covered so that he wouldn't see anything though he knew the old man more than likely knew what they did earlier. "Get out of here!"

The old man didn't say anything and just snapped his fingers. Axel was pulled away from Roxas by some demons that he summoned and saw the old man walk towards the younger boy.

"Get away from him!" Axel shouted as he struggled to get free. "Xehanort!"

"Silence," Xehanort ordered as he pulled Roxas up by his hair. "You thought you could stay hidden forever didn't you?"

Roxas didn't say anything and struggled to get away. "Let me go! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"The Dark Crystal tears," Xehanort said. "That other one was never the one to cry them and you knew it. But I know the truth now. And I will get the Dark Crystal if I have to rip off your scales one by one if I have to get it."

Scales? Roxas? Axel looked at the boy's body, seeing nothing but smooth skin. "Have you gone senile, old man? He's a human! He's not a mermaid or any kind of demon!"

"Human? This boy?" Xehanort snorted and started walking out with Roxas in hand while he ordered the demons to bring Axel. Roxas continued to struggled and pleaded for Xehanort to "not show him the truth." Though Axel had no idea what he meant by that, but he hoped the old man didn't hurt him. They were brought into a room with a pool that looked similar to the one at his other home. And he knew the water was salt water from just smelling it. Xehanort smirked as his hand went from Roxas' hair to his throat, gripping it tightly as the boy tried to breathe. "Now he'll see for himself what you really are."

Roxas' eyes widen with fear as Xehanort held him over the water. "P-Please!" he begged. "D-D-Don't!"

"You should've told me the truth from the beginning," Xehanort told him. He released the boy and watched as he fell into the pool below.

Axel watched in fear, thinking that Roxas couldn't swim or something since he seemed so afraid of being released into the water. Instead, he saw the smooth slender human legs turn into a shimmering gold…fin. "Roxas…?"

"That's right. This boy is a mermaid," Xehanort explained. "And the mermaid I had before him…was his twin brother, Ventus."

The last thing Axel saw before one of the demons knocked him out was Roxas jumping out of the water with fangs and claws, going for Xehanort.

* * *

><p>Okay! Sorry for not updating when I said I would! Gotta love how life screws up your plans.<p>

But hurray for a new chapter! Finally updated after how long? It's been forever, I know and I'm sorry.

All I will say is that updates will be random and hopefully I can start getting them in at a consistent rate. Keep your fingers crossed! And I'll fix any grammar errors later. I'm too tired right now.

Anyways! I think this chapter answers a few questions now. I mean you know who the mermaid that Xehanort used to have is now. And I'm pretty sure this answers who rescued that mermaid. ;)

And of course, Roxas is revealed to be a mermaid now! So now you know who Sora's two friends are and who his brother is! Well, I hope you would know who it is. XD

Next chapter coming randomly soon!:)


	9. Chapter 9

Axel opened his eyes. His head was pounding from the hit. "Roxas…?" He looked around for the blonde, remembering the sight from before. A mermaid. Roxas was a mermaid. He remembered seeing Xehanort drop him into the water and seeing his legs turn into a fin. He saw that they were in a room with very little light. "Roxas? Where are you?" He stood up and looked around, seeing a glass…coffin? He looked closer at it, seeing water filling it and something in the water. "Roxas!"

The mermaid slowly opened his eyes when he heard a voice call out to him. He couldn't hear too well because of the water swishing around him. He looked out of the coffin, seeing Axel's concerned face. "Axel…"

"Roxas, hold on! I'm getting you out of here," Axel said, trying to open the coffin. He could tell Roxas was struggling to breathe due to no opening for oxygen. "Stay with me!"

"No use," Roxas said, watching Axel struggle to open it. "He wants me weak…"

"Weak and dead are two very different things!" Axel snapped as he managed to lift the lid of the coffin up a little, seeing the mermaid go near the opening. "Better?"

The blonde boy nodded as he stayed near the opening. "Much. Thank you, Axel."

The fire demon looked at him, taking in the true form of Roxas. He looked very much the same, only his once smooth human legs were now replaced with a shimmering golden fin. He was still beautiful in his eyes. "So this is the real you, huh?" he asked.

Roxas looked away, blushing. "Yes…I never thought he would reveal this so I never bothered to tell you. And I was a little afraid you might not…"

"I think you look beautiful," Axel assured him. "Fin or no fin, I'll always think you're beautiful." He smiled down at him. "Now let's get you out of here."

"It's no use," Roxas said quietly. "We're on an airship. His demons are guarding the door outside and will attack the moment we open the door. And I'm too weak to help. I'm so sorry, Axel."

The redhead held his hand through the small opening and kissed his fingers. "Don't be. I won't put your safety in jeopardy. And now we know all of our secrets."

Roxas smiled at him, clutching his hand tighter. "I guess we do. I didn't mean to hide the truth from you. I just…wanted you to love me for me."

Axel looked him in the eye, kissing his fingers again. "I always thought you were beautiful. From the moment we met and you gave me that haughty attitude, I was yours. And here I thought mermaids were supposed to be friendly," he joked, hoping to make younger boy smile.

The blonde boy laughed weakly. "Movies don't exactly portray us right. We are friendly, but if we feel threatened…"

"The claws and fangs come out?" Axel asked.

Roxas nodded. "I was hoping you would never have to see me that way. We call it our "true" form. We never look like that unless we're defending ourselves. It's not our best looking face."

"…Can I see?" Axel asked.

The blonde boy looked at him in shock. "Why would you wanna see something so…ugly?" he asked.

"I'll be the judge of that," Axel said. "Let me see this "true" form of yours." He saw Roxas look down then saw his nails were slowly turning into claws and some of his skin on his chest, torso, and arms were now covered with shimmering gold scales. The blonde boy looked up at him, showing that his eyes were now completely blue, his pupils slit like a cat's eyes, and fangs came out of his mouth. Despite being rather sinister- looking, Axel still thought Roxas looked beautiful. "You call this ugly?"

Roxas turned back to normal, looking away from him. "Axel…you're so brave…but so stupid," he said with a laugh. "Only you would think a mermaid in its true form is beautiful. You're lucky I know you. If I didn't, I would've killed you without a second thought."

Axel laughed with him, standing up. "Yeah, Reno and I aren't not exactly known for our brains. Everyone agrees the only reason why we're still alive is because we're good-looking." He broke the lock on the coffin and lifted the lid so that it was completely open. Roxas looked up at him with wide eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna try to escape with you just yet. If what you said was true, then we'll have to wait. But at least now you can breathe better and I can hold you." He picked him up, seeing the gold fin turn into human legs. The younger boy wrapped his arms around his neck as Axel sat down with his back against the coffin.

"You know…he's only going to put me back in there, right?" Roxas asked quietly.

The redhead rested his chin on top of Roxas' head. He noticed that the smaller boy shivered, remembering that he was naked and this wasn't exactly the warmest place they were in. He managed to unzip his cloak and take it off, covering Roxas in it. "Better?"

Roxas nodded, snuggling closer to him. He could feel Axel's hands roaming over him, loving how warm they felt. "Your hands are warm," he said, feeling his eyes close.

Axel smiled, kissing his forehead. "I'm a fire demon, babe. I'm always warm. If you're ever cold and need something to warm you up, just say the word."

"Just don't let go…until we reach our destination," Roxas pleaded.

Axel felt his heart break at the thought of what Xehanort had in store for Roxas. He knew he was a just pawn in this little game and the old man would more than likely get rid of him as soon as possible. "I'll never let go…even if I die."

* * *

><p>"No! I'm not going to let you go after him by yourself!" Ventus shouted at his mate.<p>

"You have no choice, idiot," Vanitas snapped. "Stop thinking with your heart and think with that little brain in your pretty blonde head. You're still too weak and will only get in my way. I have to find Xehanort. Our brothers could be in danger."

Ventus sighed, knowing he was right. His body was still weak from Xehanort's abuse. He could only imagine what his brother Roxas was being put through right now. He hoped the "perverted man" that Roxas had been telling him about before he went on that mission was taking care of him. "But I can't let you go by yourself. What if you don't come back…?"

Vanitas was instantly in front of him, staring at him with those bright gold eyes. Eyes that always seemed to see everything, even the deepest secrets. "I _will_ come back for you. Haven't I always been there when you needed me?"

The blonde boy gave him a small smile. "But it took you a while to get me back…" He gasped when he felt rough lips kiss his own.

Those gold eyes looked at him brightly. "I'm going to come back and I'm going to save our family. Even your stupid brother. You are going to stay with those useless friends of yours, Terra and Aqua, and continue to recover. If I so much as see you near Xehanort, I'm going to punish you." He gave his mate a smirk at the last sentence when he saw Ventus blush. "Got it?"

Ventus nodded, giving him a small peck on the lips. "Yes…just promise you'll come back?"

"I always do," Vanitas stated.

* * *

><p>"Can this thing go any faster?" Sora asked.<p>

Riku's eyes got wide in horror when he did then looked away as Captain Cid Valentine-Highwind started ranting on how the Shera was the fastest airship in the world and that he should be grateful that he was being kind to fly them to Twilight Town on such short notice.

It also did help that Riku's grandfather was married to the Captain. He looked over to him, seeing his grandfather cleaning his gun. Vincent Valentine-Highwind, called out to his husband quietly. "Cid, the boy has never been on an airship before. He doesn't know that we'll be there in eight minutes."

The Captain simmered down and puffed out some smoke. "Fine, I'll let him off easy this time. Little brat better watch his language next time he's on my airship! Got it Baby Psycho?"

Riku scowled at the nickname, glaring at his step-grandfather. "Stop calling me that…or I'll bring Yuffie next time." He smirked when he saw Cid's eyes go wide at the name. If there was one thing in the world that Cid disliked greatly, but loved dearly at the same time, it was Yuffie Kisaragi. She was the only person who could stand head to head with Cid in arguments and come out victorious most of the time. The Captain may have the filthiest mouth to ever poison Riku's ears, but Yuffie was louder and could dish out the same crap Cid gave everyone else, without using profanity.

"Tch, fine," Cid said, taking another drag of his cigarette.

"Who is Yuffie?" Sora asked Riku.

"A young woman that Cid can't stand, but he loves her like a little sister and daughter at the same time," Riku told him. "She's really hyper most of the time, and loud. But she's one of the most loyal friends you can have…especially if you have Materia."

"What's Materia?" Sora asked him again.

"A small orb that contains magic or special skills," Riku answered. "Yuffie has the biggest collection of them. If anyone ever has a question about it, she's the master. She can even summon other creatures to fight for her."

"Wow that sounds so cool!" Sora said excitedly. "Think she can teach me some of this cool magic?"

The silver-haired boy shrugged. "Maybe. But don't you already know magic?"

Sora nodded. "Well yeah, but I don't know how to summon creatures to fight with me. I wanna learn more about your world. Who knows how long we'll be here once the battle is over."

"We won't see each other anymore after this?" Riku asked him. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of not seeing Sora again. Despite only knowing him a few weeks, he didn't want the brown-haired mermaid to leave.

"I don't know," Sora replied. "It's up to Angeal if we stay or if we go. He's always been the one to make those decisions. Though I wonder if we'll stay since he's so close with Genesis…"

"Close with Genesis? How close are they?" Riku asked.

"Not sure, but it's obvious that he loves him," the younger boy stated.

Riku looked over to where Genesis and Angeal sat, seeing the redhead smile and laugh with his friend. Only at rare times did he see that and to see him do it so freely now…was warming. And his father was also warming up to Zack. The younger man had practically followed him everywhere, asking him questions about anything and everything on being a great warrior. Though his father pretended to be annoyed, Riku knew he was enjoying Zack's company. Cloud was even talking to Sora's brother, Squall and smiling a little bit as well. Surprisingly his brother Kadaj was talking Xion, even laughing with her. "You're right," Riku said. "It seems everyone is a little happier right now."

Sora smiled at him. "Yeah, I'm happy I'm with you, Riku," he said.

The silver-haired boy blushed at that. He knew Sora probably didn't mean it the way it sounded though he wished he did. Something about him made Riku's heart feel lighter and felt like smiling all the time. "I'm happy with you too, Sora. You're a really good friend." He felt Sora rest his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes then leaned his head against his.

"We're here!" Cid shouted as he began landing the airship.

Sora stood up with Riku then yelped when the ship finally landed, losing his balance. Luckily for him, Riku caught him and kept him from falling. "Sorry about that," he apologized, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Don't worry about it," Riku said as he helped stand up straight. "Let's go find your brother and friends." All of them walked out of the airship, Cid and Vincent decided to stay behind to guard in case Xehanort suddenly appeared. He and Sora walked behind Cloud, his father, and Angeal. Kairi and Xion were walking behind them while Squall, Zack, Kadaj, and Genesis guarded from behind. "Do you think he'll be here, Father?"

"There's no telling where he is," Sephiroth said calmly as they walked through the town. "Someone must've seen him. There must be a place to gather information."

"I know of a place," Genesis said. "Mind you, it's a small place but a lot of town folk like to go there and gossip. I'm sure the owners must've seen or heard about him."

"And what is this place?" Angeal asked.

"A diner," Genesis replied as he took the lead. "Three young adults own the place and always seem to know anything and everything about anyone and everyone is this town. That's the best place to get any information from here." He led them to small diner on Market Street, seeing that the younger mermaids were looking around in wonder and amazement.

Sora looked at the shops, awing at the items they sold. "This is amazing! Angeal, can we come back here again? Please?" He looked up at his guardian along with Kairi and Xion, eyes looking up at him with hope.

The big man smiled and ruffled his hair. "We'll see, Sora. Right now we need to find Xehanort." He gently nudged them to walk to their destination.

"Let them look around," Genesis told him. "Your pup and lion can look after them along with Sephiroth's boys and the chocobo."

"I'm not a chocobo," Cloud growled at him.

The redhead just smirked and waved them off. "Your hair says otherwise," he replied. "Now, off with you and the children, the adults need to go do some recon."

Kairi stepped up and looked at Angeal. "Is it okay if I go with you and the others, Angeal?" she asked. She didn't want to admit that she felt a little left out when she saw how close Sora and Xion had gotten with the two silver-haired boys. Even Squall was getting close to Cloud.

Angeal nodded. "Of course. Zack, come with us and keep an eye on her," he ordered. He looked at her when he saw her huff. "It's not that I don't trust you, Kairi. It's only because Xehanort is managing to get by us without us noticing."

"Fine," she said as they walked towards the diner. She could see a quite a bit of people in the building, all laughing and chatting. Zack made sure to keep her in front of him as they walked in.

A pretty young woman with brown hair and green eyes walked over to them. "Hello, welcome to The Diner. I'm Olette," she greeted herself with a smile. "Shall I get a table for five?"

Angeal shook his head. "No. We're actually here to find answers…"

She immediately looked at them suspiciously. "Are you police or private investigators?"

Genesis rolled his eyes. "Do we look like we're investigators of any sort? My friend here has lost three children and is trying to find them you halfwit. And my other friend here has lost his partner."

"Okay, I'll take it from here, Olette," a male's voice said. A young man with blonde hair and brown eyes about the same age as Olette walked up to them, cleaning his hands off with a towel. Olette nodded and walked back to the tables to check on customers. The young man looked at them and scowled. "I don't appreciate you insulting my coworker. She was just asking because we've had some shady people around town lately and as you can see, this is a small town."

"Hence, the reason why we're here," Genesis snapped. "We figured the people working here might've seen something or the owner might know something."

"I'm one of the owners. My name is Hayner," the young man said. "And do you have a picture or any description of the people you're looking for?"

Angeal pulled out the two pictures from his pocket, one with Roxas and his brother Ventus then another one with Vanitas. "Have you seen any of these boys here?"

The young man looked at the pictures, frowning as he did. "I know I saw this boy," he answered, pointing at Vanitas. "He was here a few weeks ago and I saw him carrying one of these two boys in the other picture. Other than that, I haven't seen him around."

Angeal sighed with relief as he heard that. It gave him hope now that he knew Vanitas and Ventus were still alive. "How did they look? Did they look weak? Abused?"

"The blonde boy looked weak when that black-haired boy was carrying him away. It looked like he hadn't eaten in a long time," Hayner replied. "As for the black-haired boy, he looked physically okay. Mentally, he looked like a damn psychopath ready to murder someone."

"He's not a psychopath!" Kairi snapped at him. "He was missing his mate and that awful old man took him and Roxas!"

Hayner looked at her in surprise. He had to admit that she was very pretty though he wasn't going to tell her that with four men guarding her. Especially since he knew they had to be demons. "I didn't say he is. He just looked like he was going to murder someone. Other than that, he didn't say anything to anyone."

"Have you seen these men?" Sephiroth asked and pulled out pictures with Axel and Xehanort on them.

Hayner looked at the pictures and nodded at Xehanort's picture. "Seen him around. He actually stopped by a few times. Didn't say much either."

"Can you tell us where he lives?" Angeal asked.

The blonde boy looked at him and the others suspiciously. "And why do you need to know that?"

Genesis growled and was about to grab him by the collar of his shirt until Kairi stepped in front of him. She stared the young man down. "Because he kidnapped my friends and possibly might murder them," she said. "He already attacked me and my family. We can't let him get his hands on my friends."

Hayner looked at her and sighed. "We saw him heading in the direction of the Old Mansion. To get there, you have to walk or take the tram through the Tram Common and walk through the woods. The mansion is there."

"Thank you," Angeal said gratefully.

"You didn't hear it from me," Hayner said sternly and gave them a hard look. "If what you said was true, I don't want that old man coming after my friends. I don't want them to get hurt."

"Are you not worried about your safety?" Genesis asked.

Hayner gave him a cocky smirk. "Nah, I can defend myself. But Pence and Olette aren't fighters so I'm their protector."

"Don't take him lightly if you see him," Sephiroth scolded. "My son is about your age and a brilliant fighter and Xehanort beat him. It's best if you run if you run into him."

"Noted," Hayner said with a nod. "Feel free to stop by anytime you're not on business. And try not to insult my employees. I hope you find your friends." He walked away before any of them could say anything, giving Kairi a quick glance as he did.

Genesis smirked as he watched the boy walk away. "I think our fair maiden here has an admirer. Did any of you see how he couldn't take his eyes off of her?"

"Genesis, don't embarrass her," Angeal scolded softly, seeing a faint blush on Kairi's cheeks. "So we need to head to the Tram Common and go through the woods from there to get to the Old Mansion that Hayner mentioned. Should we get the younger ones?"

"Leave them be," Genesis said. "Your little ones need to experience life outside the sea. The older ones and Sephiroth's boys will protect them."

"I don't know…," Angeal said quietly.

The redhead growled and grabbed the larger man by the collar of his shirt, looking intensely into his eyes. "You _are_ going to leave them be and come with us right now to the Old Mansion. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Angeal immediately agreed.

"Good," Genesis said with a cocky smile and gave him a quick peck on the lips, knowing full well that Zack and Kairi were looking at them in shock while Sephiroth just shook his head.

"Oh ew!" Zack exclaimed as he made a disgusted face. "That's gross!"

Genesis smirked at him as he let Angeal go. "Men kissing each other gross you out, pup?"

"No, but seeing Angeal like that does!" Zack said as he walked off.

"We're not used to seeing him like that with anyone," Kairi explained and walked away. She caught up with Zack. "Did you know about him and Genesis?"

The black-haired male shook his head as they continued walking. "Nope. I mean I noticed he always got a weird look on his face whenever he talked about Genesis, but I never knew the two of them were that close."

She smiled when she looked back and saw Angeal walking not too far behind them with Genesis and Sephiroth. Though they weren't holding hands or anything to openly show their affections, she could feel the love between them when they looked at each other. She only hoped that one day she would find someone that would look at her like that. She'd always figured she would be mated to either Sora or Roxas once she found out Vanitas and Ventus were mated. It only made sense since she and Xion were the same age as the two, but that's when both of them revealed they didn't like females like that. Angeal feared with that, plus along with himself, Zack, and Squall not liking the opposite sex as well, the mermaids would go extinct unless there were other male mermaids out there. She remembered Hayner at that moment, how he kept looking at her despite how she raised her voice at him and being surrounded by four men. "Zack…do you think Angeal is upset that…we might be on the very edge of extinction?" she asked.

He looked at her in surprise then smiled and hugged her around the shoulders in a brotherly way. "I think Angeal just wants us all to be safe and happy at this point. I doubt he cares who we love and spend our lives with. Why you asking?"

She shook her head. "No reason," she replied.

Zack smirked at her. "Would it have something to do with that kid at the diner?"

Her face turned red and she looked down. "No! Why would you think that?"

"Because you had that sparkle in your eyes and so did he," Zack said with a laugh. "But don't worry. I'm sure we'll see him soon!"

She groaned and rolled her eyes while secretly hoping that they would come back here after all of this was over and they got their friends back home safely.

* * *

><p>Axel had fallen asleep with Roxas in his arms then suddenly woke up when he felt the blonde get violently lifted from his arms. "HEY!" he shouted, but was pinned down by Xehanort's demons. He watched as the old man took his cloak off of Roxas and cuffed his arms behind him then pushed the young boy into the coffin. "No! Roxas!"<p>

The mermaid cried out when he saw Xehanort close the coffin shut, knowing his oxygen was now limited. "Axel!"

Xehanort didn't say anything to them and ordered his demons to carry the mermaid out of the room. "We're finally here," he told them. "Make sure that demon doesn't do anything stupid."

The demons forced Axel to walk out as he pulled his cloak back on. He could see the blonde mermaid looking at him helplessly. It was taking everything in him to not attack, but he knew he would lose and was outnumbered. "Where are we, old man?" he demanded. By the looks of it, they were on an island. But it wasn't Destiny Island. "Where did you take us?"

Xehanort continued walking, looking at the mermaid glaring at him. "Roxas, does it feel good to come back home?"

"Home?" Axel muttered.

The old man nodded. "Yes, I will not only be restored to my prime power, but I will live forever…"

Axel's eyes went wide as he realized where they were. "You don't mean…?"

"Welcome to the Fountain of Youth," Xehanort announced.

* * *

><p>Sorry for taking so long! Wrapped up school and been working like crazy to save up money to take my state board!<p>

Hopefully I get the next chapter out soon!


	10. Chapter 10

"Are you sure he's taking them to the Fountain of Youth?" Sora asked Angeal as he looked out the window on the airship. "You don't think he's…?"

"He must know that Roxas is a mermaid, but he doesn't know what tears he cries. None of know what tears he cries," Angeal said. "But if he cries the Dark Crystals, Xehanort will be an even bigger problem. That's why we have to hurry."

"So you don't know what tears you cry?" Genesis asked as he walked up to them. "Then how will this old man know if the boy has the right tears?"

Angeal shook his head. "I don't know. I fear for what he might do to make him cry though. But Roxas is a strong boy. I hope that Xehanort doesn't torture him to death just for one tear."

"Is one mermaid's tear worth a lot?" Genesis asked quietly.

"Yes," Angeal replied. "That's why I raised these kids to never cry no matter how much pain they're in. Call me heartless for making their training tough, but I wanted them to be able to fight for themselves. So much good that did…"

Genesis smacked him upside the head and huffed. "Angeal, you raised these children right. They love and respect you. You've practically given up your life for them."

The bigger man chuckled and continued to look out the window. Sora patted his shoulder and smiled. "It's true, Angeal. We love you no matter what. You're the only father all of us have ever known." He gave him a hug then walked away so the two older men could have some alone time. He saw Sephiroth was sitting at a table with Zack sitting across from him while the silver-haired man polished his sword. "Umm, is R-Riku here?"

"He's in one of the guest rooms," Sephiroth replied. "Room 2."

"Thank you," Sora said and walked off to the guest rooms. When he saw the guest room that Riku was in and knocked on the door. After waiting for a few minutes he knocked again and there was still no answer. He walked in to see if his friend was sleeping only to walk in on Riku walking out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. "Oh, I'm sorry!" He turned away, feeling his cheeks heat up. "I didn't know you were in the shower. Your dad just said you were in your room."

"Relax, Sora," Riku said with a chuckle. "We're both guys so you can look. We have the same parts."

Sora turned back to look at him and tried to keep his face from turning red. "I'm sorry for walking in like this," he said.

Riku shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. I live with my dad and three older brothers. Privacy is nonexistent in my house." He noticed how Sora avoided looking at him and laughed. "You're so cute, Sora."

The mermaid boy felt his cheeks turn redder if it was possible. "C-Cute? You think I'm cute?"

"Yes," Riku answered honestly. He'd already said it. He might as well tell the boy how he really felt at this point. "I thought you were cute the moment you I saw you again after you rescued me. Remember how I had to carry you?"

Sora nodded, looking down. "Yes."

Riku smirked at him, slowly walking towards him. "You didn't know it, but I kept running my hand along your thigh," he revealed, cornering the mermaid against the wall, putting his hands on it on either side of Sora's head to prevent him from moving. "I'm slowly falling in love with you, Sora."

Sora finally looked up at him with those big blue eyes. "L-Love? Are you feeling sick, Riku? Why are you telling me this now?"

The silver-haired boy ran his finger along his cheekbone. "Because if something does happen to me…I just wanted to let you know."

The mermaid boy looked up at him with wide eyes. "Don't say that, Riku. I don't want anything to happen to you." He saw Riku's face slowly leaning down to his and bit at his lower lip.

"Good…because I need more time to court you," Riku said huskily. He brushed his lips against the corner of Sora's mouth. Sora's mouth opened slightly and Riku took it as a chance to kiss him fully. He wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's body and brought him close. Sora's hands were resting against his chest as Sora squeaked into the kiss. He pulled back a little to look into his eyes. "Sora…?"

"I-I've never…kissed anyone," Sora admitted shyly. "I don't know what to do."

Riku smiled at how cute he looked. "But you want this, right?"

Sora nodded. "Yes, but-" He was cut off when Riku kissed him again and pushed him against the wall. A part of him remembered that he had his hands on Riku's bare chest, but the other part of him wanted to run his hands along not only his chest, but everywhere he could. He wrapped his legs around Riku's waist when he felt the older boy's hands lift him up by his hips. He barely noticed that the towel around Riku's hips had fallen.

Riku walked over to the small bed in the room and lied Sora down on it. He pulled away and took Sora's shirt off, tossing it somewhere in the room. Then he pulled the smaller boy's shorts off along with his boxers, socks and shoes, leaving the mermaid completely naked. He looked at Sora, seeing the fear in his eyes, but also arousal. "Sora, are you okay?"

"D-Don't you think we're moving too fast?" Sora asked shakily.

The silver-haired boy sighed and buried his face against Sora's neck. "You're right…," he admitted. "I shouldn't force you to do this. I…I've just been wanting you since we've known each other's names."

"You just want my body," Sora stated.

Riku shook his head and chuckled. "No, Sora…it's you. You're not like anybody else I've ever met. You're silly, naïve, and a complete goofball…"

Sora pouted. "Hey, that's not nice."

"But you're also courageous and strong," he added, kissing the tip of his nose. "And very determined to find your brother and friends."

Sora smiled shyly at him. "I'm sorry, Riku…I don't know if I'm ready…," he admitted.

Just as Riku was about to assure him, they heard the alarm go off then Cid's voice on the intercom. "Get yer asses on the loading bay! We're here! Mermaids are going in first!"

Riku frowned when he heard that last part. "Going in first? What does he mean by that?"

"The Fountain of Youth is an island," Sora began explaining. "But there's a way to get to the fountain itself underwater. Me and my family are gonna try to get there first before Xehanort can harm Roxas."

"But what about the rest of us?" Riku asked as he sat up. "How will we know how to get there?"

Sora shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think the girls are gonna stay behind to help you and the others get there on foot. Kairi knows the magic to get in." He pulled his clothes back on when Riku handed them back to him.

"I don't like it," Riku said as he put some clothes on. "I don't like that we're being separated. What if he manages to hurt you or the others underwater? Or even capture you?"

"That's a risk we're going to have to take," Sora said. "I'm not letting him kill Roxas." He stood up and waited for Riku to stand up. "Trust me. Nothing will happen."

They walked to the loading bay, seeing everyone else was already there. "Okay, now that the last two are here, we go," Angeal said, seeing the door open to reveal the waters below them. "We'll go from here. Hopefully we make it before he does. Kairi, Xion, you two guide the others to the fountain. Got it?"

"But I can fight!" Xion exclaimed. "I can help you guys underwater."

"And I'm trusting you to help them fight on land," Angeal told her. "Keep Kairi safe so she can open the entrance to the Fountain of Youth."

She sighed and nodded. "Fine," she muttered.

"I'm counting on you," Angeal told her. The door opened, showing the ocean's waters below them. "Okay, Leon, Zack, Sora, and I are going underwater and hopefully we can make it there on time before Xehanort can torture Roxas, or kills your friend, Axel. We're still hours away. Now, if you all don't mind, please turn around."

Riku frowned in confusion then saw that Squall and Zack were beginning to take off their clothes as was Sora. Xion and Kairi walked out of the loading bay along with Kadaj. His father, Cloud, and Genesis turned around to give the mermaids privacy.

"Riku, turn around," Sora said.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized then looked away.

Sora laughed as he folded his clothes neatly. "Are we ready?" he asked his mentor.

Angeal was about to reply when he heard a rather loud moan then looked at Genesis, who was looking at his naked body while licking his lips. "Just as delectable as I remember. You definitely owe me a night with that body, Angeal."

The bigger man blushed badly and looked away. "Okay, Genesis." He and the other mermaids walked to the edge, looking at the water below. "Ready?"

"Wait!" Riku shouted to them.

Sora turned around to ask him what was wrong only to have Riku's lips claiming his own in a heated kiss. He moaned as he felt the older boy's arms wrap around his bare waist and held him tightly. Riku pulled away, resting his forehead against Sora's, looking down at him. "Be careful," he whispered.

The mermaid boy nodded, giving him one last peck on the lips. "You too." He backed away and nodded to Angeal and the others. All of them jumped off the airship, diving into the waters below. He felt his human legs turn into a fin once they were in the water. A part of him had missed the ocean and the familiarity of it, but a bigger part of him missed the outside world…and Riku.

"So, you and Sephiroth's son, huh?" Zack asked him as they began swimming towards the island.

Sora blushed and nodded. "Yeah, I like him."

"At least you have someone to come home to," Zack said, giving him a smile.

"Yeah, but first we have to bring Roxas back home," Sora said with determination, looking forward to their destination.

* * *

><p>Roxas looked away as he saw Xehanort hit Axel again, fighting his urge to cry. It had been going on for hours…or was it only minutes? At this point, he didn't know nor care. All he wanted was for the old man to stop torturing Axel. Once they had reached the Mermaid Graveyard, Xehanort had his demons tie Roxas to a nearby post near one of the many pools, leaving the upper half of his body in the water and the other half in the water. He saw the corpses of many other mermaids that been tied to other pools not too far from the one he was tied too. He knew that if he stayed tied like this, he would eventually dry out and die.<p>

A demon nearby grabbed his face and forced him to look at Xehanort, who sighed in disappointment. "Such a stubborn little boy," he said. "Do you not love this man? Are you willing to see him be tortured to death all because you won't give me one tear? Are you willing to watch me tear him limb from limb?"

The blonde-haired boy looked at the man he loved. Axel's left eye was swollen shut and the rest of his face was a bloody swollen mess. His body had deep, nonfatal cuts all over his body along with bruises as the demons held him still. "D-Don't…," Axel croaked, falling to his knees. His one good eye looked at him. "Don't cry…Roxy." He shouted in pain as Xehanort stabbed him in the shoulder and twisted the knife slowly.

Roxas looked away, feeling his heart break at the sight of his love like this. The demon that had held his face grabbed it again and forced him to look at Xehanort again. He looked at the old man with hatred, wishing he could kill him right now in the most brutal of ways.

"My, mermaids are tough," Xehanort mused, twisting the knife more. "All you have to do is provide me with one tear, Roxas. Just one and this torture will end for your lover."

He gave him a cool stare. "You will die…sooner than later."

Xehanort walked over and slapped him hard across the cheek. "Give us a tear and I will let you free."

Roxas glared him and hissed, showing his fangs. "Burn in hell."

The old man looked down at him for a minute then walked back to Axel, holding the knife to the redhead's neck. Roxas immediately looked at him in concern. "Will you give me a tear?" Xehanort asked again.

Axel shook his head, hissing when he felt the blade press more against his neck. "Roxas…don't cry…I'll love you forever if you don't…"

Roxas felt tears threatening to show and blinked them away. "I'm so sorry…,"he whispered. He saw Xehanort raise his hand and quickly brought it down, stabbing Axel in the chest. Roxas gasped as he saw the blood pouring out of the wound and coming out of the corners of Axel's mouth. "Axel!"

Xehanort pushed him after he pulled the knife out, kicking the fire demon away. "Tie him down. Leave him here with his people," he ordered his demons. "If you won't give me my Dark Crystal, I'll find another mermaid who will." He walked away as the demons bound Roxas to a nearby stake, leaving him half out of the water. The other demons dragged Axel's body away, leaving a bloody trail in their wake. They left him once they made sure he was secured then followed Xehanort into the woods.

It then that Roxas felt the tears appearing in his eyes and managed to blink them away again, feeling his heart break into a million pieces. One tear…all it would've taken was one tear and Axel would've been safe. He would've still been alive. He looked up at the sky for hours, watching as the sun began to set and the sky became darker. The tears were still there, but he held them back. It was the least he could do for Axel.

_I'll love you forever if you don't…_Axel's final words ran through his mind.

He shook his head. He wouldn't cry. Not now, at least. He realized that he hadn't even told Axel how much he loved him. Did the fire demon know? Could he tell from the way Roxas looked at him?

He looked at the area where Axel's body had been, seeing a small puddle of blood. "I'm so sorry…," he whispered again. "I never told you how much I've come to love you, Axel. Please forgive me…"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's NotesRambles**

Finally! A new chapter! We're getting closer to the end! Sorry chapter was short, but wanting to build up the anticipation for the final battle!

Next chapter coming soon!


	11. Chapter 11

Riku walked out of the airship with the others. He looked around the island, sighing when he realized that it was going to be a long journey on foot. They had already run into some of Xehanort's demons on their way here and it had caused some damage to Cid's airship, which the Captain was not happy about. So Cid and Vincent decided to stay behind to watch over the repairs of the Shera.

"This is where the Fountain of Youth is?" Cloud asked the girls.

Kairi nodded. "Yes. This used to be the home of many mermaids back then…but when humans and demons learned of the fountain, mermaids were being hunted for their tears. All of the mermaids in the world are gone…except us."

"And if you don't mate with another mermaid, your race will die out, right?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes," Xion replied. "But two of our friends mated with each other, Vanitas and Ventus. Vanitas is Sora's fraternal twin brother, older than him by twenty minutes. And Ven is Roxas' older identical twin brother. Zack said he'd rather drop dead than mate with Kairi since me and her are the same age and she's like a younger sister to him too. And Squall said he would never even consider looking at us since we're a lot younger than him."

Riku felt a little guilty that he'd pretty taken Sora away from them. He knew Sora would've made a great parent and a good husband to any girl, but he was too selfish to let the mermaid boy go. "Sorry…for taking Sora," he apologized.

Kairi waved him off and laughed. "Don't worry, Riku. We're not mad. We're actually happy that Sora has you. He and Roxas always looked alone after their brothers mated, but even Xion and I knew we weren't meant to be with them."

"But still…the mermaids might go extinct," he said.

"That's not something for you to worry about," Xion told him as they began walking. "Who knows, maybe there are another group of mermaids out there and we just don't know about them. Either way, the heart wants what the heart wants. And Sora's heart obviously wants you."

They walked further into the jungle, seeing a few pools here and there with corpses of mermaids tied to stakes near them. All the men couldn't help but wince at the thought of the agonizing pain these mermaids went through, even Sephiroth. Riku didn't even want to imagine Sora being held like that. "How many pools like these are on this island?" Genesis asked.

"A lot," Kairi replied, keeping her features stoic. "Being half in the water and half out like that will dry us out. It's not enough water for us to live while in our mermaid form. My parents…died like this. According to Angeal."

Genesis frowned at the mention of his old friend. "I can see why he hid this secret from me for as long as he did. He didn't want to risk having you children suffer this cruel fate."

"I don't even think this can be considered cruel," Sephiroth mused. "This is more like barbaric."

"Now you know why he hid it from you," Xion said as she walked further.

Genesis sighed as they continued walking. "Yes, I do. Such an honorable oaf," he said.

They walked further up ahead towards some pools and saw Angeal and the others waiting for them. Riku ran to Sora, kneeling down next to the pool. "Are you okay?"

Sora nodded and smiled up at him. "Yeah, we ran into a few of Xehanort's monsters, but we managed to fight them off. So that shows that he's definitely here." He pushed himself up and gave Riku a peck on the lips. "We just stopped here so we could make sure you were on the right path."

"We have to go now," Angeal said. "The sooner we hurry the better."

"Be careful. Xehanort knows that you're underwater and might have more demons waiting for you. If it becomes too much, swim to the surface or swim back to the airship," Sephiroth told them.

Riku leaned down and gave Sora a peck on the lips. "Be careful, Sora."

The young mermaid boy smiled. "You too."

All of the mermaids went back underwater and began swimming to where the Fountain of Youth was. Zack looked around, seeing no demons and that it felt…eerily quiet. "Hey, guys. Don't you think it's a little too quiet right now?"

Angeal looked around, seeing nothing but the vast ocean around them and frowned. It was indeed very odd that they hadn't run into any of Xehanort's demons now that they were getting closer. He would think that the old man would've had more demons guarding their path. "Everyone, be on guard. There's no telling if he has demons hiding somewhere." As soon as he finished saying that, Xehanort's demons appeared and attacked. He dodged the first demon and grabbed his sword and slashed at the other demons that attacked him. He could hear Zack and the others fighting behind, knowing that more demons must've appeared from behind.

"SORA!" Leon shouted as he killed two demons. He saw a lot of demons gather around his cousin and attacked him all at once. His cousin didn't stand a chance or have any hope in escaping. The demons trapped him in a net and began swimming away. Squall didn't even hesitate and began swimming after them, slashing all demons that were in his way.

"Leon, don't!" Angeal shouted to him and tried to swim after him, but Zack stopped him. "Zack let me go! They'll be-"

"And we'll be dead too if we go after them!" Zack raised his voice, keeping a firm hand on him. "We're no good if we get captured too. Let's hurry up and get there before he does! There are more demons coming." He gave his mentor a small push toward their destination. As much as he wanted to go after Leon and Sora, he knew he and Angeal would only end up getting captured and then there wouldn't be anyone to stop Xehanort.

* * *

><p>Xehanort turned around when he heard his demon from underwater return. He was quite surprised when they not only brought him one mermaid, but two mermaids. One looked about Roxas' age while the other one was obviously older. The older mermaid was hissing and struggling in the net that held him captive while the younger one was doing the same, but only struggling whenever one of the demons got too close to him.<p>

"Well, this is quite a surprise," he mused as he walked toward them. He knelt down next to the younger mermaid and stroked his hair as the mermaid hissed and bared his fangs at him. The boy was quite beautiful like this and full of fight. It would be a great pleasure to break that spirit and keep the boy around as a slave. He'd thought about doing the same to Roxas, but the blonde boy was far too stubborn and not worth the effort. For goodness sake, he rather let Xehanort kill the man he had feelings for instead of giving him a damn tear. "You seem to be worth keeping…"

Immediately, Sora stopped struggling and looked at the old man with wide eyes. Keep him? As a slave? Sora felt his heart drop at hearing that and wondered what exactly the man would keep him for. He wasn't that much of an idiot and knew there were various types of slaves. And he feared that Xehanort would use him for…he shook his head and tried to bite the man's hand but the net prevented him from moving around too much.

"Let him go!" Leon shouted at the old man.

Xehanort ignored his outburst and stood up, looking at both of them. "Do either of you cry Dark Crystals?"

Both mermaids looked baffled at the question and looked at each other then back him. "How are we supposed to know? We don't cry," Squall growled.

"I see…well I have no choice but to see if I can break his spirit," Xehanort said mostly to himself. He looked at the demons holding Leon and nodded to them. "Take the net off and hold him up. Make sure the bottom of his fin stays in the water."

Sora looked with wide eyes as the demons holding Leon did as they were ordered and yelped when the demons holding him down suddenly pulled the net off of him and took him out of the water. He sat up and watched as Xehanort circled around Leon.

The old man looked over at him and gave a small smile. "Where can I find the one who cries the Dark Crystals?" he asked Sora.

The young mermaid shook his head. "I-I don't know. None of us have ever cried so we don't know."

"Fine, then tell me how to get tears out of you," he demanded.

"Don't tell him anything, Sora," Leon ordered.

Sora bit at his lower lip to keep from talking. He had a bad feeling about what Xehanort was going to do to make him or Leon talk. "I don't know. I really don't…"

Xehanort grabbed a scale on Leon's fin and ripped it off. Leon's eyes went wide at the pain shooting through his body. The nerves in a mermaid's fin made it very sensitive whenever a scale was ripped off or stabbed. If he had his human legs, it would've felt like Xehanort was skinning him. A small amount of blood began oozing out of the place where the scale was ripped off, but the older mermaid kept himself from crying out in pain.

"No! Stop!" Sora begged. He flinched as Xehanort ripped three more scales from Leon's fin and tried to look away, but one of the demons holding him in place forced him to watch.

Leon closed his eyes as he felt another two scales get ripped off. He wasn't going to scream and give this old man the satisfaction of hearing him. Another four scales were ripped and he could feel the blood dripping down his fin. He could only wonder what his human legs would look like.

The younger mermaid watched as Xehanort continued to rip scales slowly from his cousin's fin. When Xehanort managed to rip five off at once did Leon make a choking sound, almost as if he was trying to keep himself from shouting in pain. Then Xehanort ordered one of his monsters that looked like it vines with thorns for arms to whip at Leon. The monster began whipping it's arms at Leon's back and his fin. Its thorns would sometimes get caught on a scale and it would be ripped when the monster brought its arm back. Leon didn't scream or make any loud noises, but he was grunting rather quietly with each hit. But Sora couldn't bear to see the pain on his face. He knew his cousin was in a lot of pain. "Please! Please stop it! Even if you make me cry, it won't turn into a crystal!" he shouted.

Xehanort immediately stopped and looked at him. "Pardon?" He walked over to Sora and forced the boy to look up at him. "What did you say?"

"Don't tell him anything, Sora…," Leon managed to say.

Sora ignored him and glared at Xehanort. "The crystals only appear when we cry out of joy…that's why no one has ever been able to get something out of a mermaid."

"So that's why nothing happened when Roxas cried when he and Axel slept together…," Xehanort mused, remember seeing a few tears fall when the two had sex. He figured it was because Axel had kissed them away before they could change, but now he knew the real reason. "And that's why all of you are trained to never cry no matter what. Correct?" He saw the boy narrow his eyes at him and knew he had his answer.

"Where's Roxas?" Sora growled.

Xehanort grinned and looked around the area. "It's a good thing I healed him then…"

"What did you do to Roxas!?" Sora yelled at him.

Xehanort walked away from him and stood near another pool that was close by. "Yes, yes. I will be able to get my tear and I have the perfect sacrifice to give me immortality." He glanced over at Leon and smirked. "Yes, he'll do. And I can keep the younger one for myself. Roxas would've sufficed, but he's not worth the trouble. The brown-haired one is more innocent and will be easier to break."

Sora didn't like the sounds of that even though he had no idea what he was talking about…and this didn't sound good for any of them.

* * *

><p>He woke up face down in the dirt and groaned. A part of him wondered how long he was there then he realized that he should've been dead. He looked down at his chest and saw the scar where he was stabbed…but how was he alive? Didn't Xehanort stab him in the heart? He remembered feeling the sharp pain as the blade easily went into his chest.<p>

"Roxas…," he whispered and remembered that Roxas was still tied up. He looked down at the trail where it was obvious that he was dragged here. Maybe this same trail would lead him back to the pool where Roxas was at. He shakily got to his feet and began following the trail. He remembered it being day time when they got to the pools and now it was night…

Was Roxas still alive? How long does it take for a mermaid to dry out? Was he even still at the same pool? Or did someone manage to rescue him? A lot of questions were on his mind, but he had to make sure for himself.

He didn't know how long he'd been walking, but it felt like an eternity to him. When he finally saw a head of spiky blonde hair, his heart stopped.

Roxas was still tied to the post and appeared to be sleeping…at least that's what Axel was hoping he was doing. He ran over to him and knelt down, cupping his face. "Roxas? Roxas! Wake up! Open your eyes!"

Roxas opened his eyes slowly and looked up to where the voice came from. He swore this person sounded just like Axel? Was it Reno? Had he and the others managed to find him? He looked right into a pair of acidic green eyes and gasped. "A-Axel?"

Axel grinned down at him and began untying him from his restraints. "Yeah, it's me."

The blonde-haired mermaid turned around to face him, resting his hands on the edge of the pool and looked up at his lover in shock. "But how? I thought you were dead. Xehanort stabbed you. I saw him do it."

"I don't know," Axel admitted. "But I'm glad I'm not dead. Otherwise I'd never get to see your angelic face again."

Roxas laughed at that, not even feeling the tears in his eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay. But you have to hurry and get out of here. You should've gone to get help."

"And risk you dying? Not a chance," Axel said firmly, cupping his cheek again and pressed their foreheads together. "You still owe me a date…"

Roxas smiled at that and that's when it happened.

A tear fell down his cheek…

Then, before he or Axel could react, he was snatched away from the redhead and brought to the edge of the pool while someone held something against his cheek. The tear fell onto the object and glowed, transforming into a crystal.

"This isn't a Dark Crystal…," Xehanort muttered as he looked at the object. "It's nothing like it…could it be? Could this be the legendary jewel? The Orichalcum?" He gave Roxas a pat on the head. "Good job, boy. You've finally managed to make me happy."

"Let him go!" Axel shouted. "You got your damn tear, now let him go!"

Xehanort looked at him then looked at Roxas, who was in complete shock at crystal now in Xehanort's hands. He looked at his demons holding Axel. "Take him with us and tie that one back to the post. We leave him here with his people."

"NO! Roxas!" Axel struggled to get away, but to no avail. He was very weak from being dead earlier and he barely had any strength. "Roxas!"

Roxas struggled as well, but he couldn't get free either. The demons tied him facing the post this time and watched as Xehanort and his demons walked away without even glancing back at him. Axel continued to struggle and try to get free, but it was no use. Roxas closed his eyes and felt tears of frustration fall. He couldn't believe that he let himself get caught like that.

"Roxas!" a voice shouted.

He looked up and saw…"Sora?"

It was definitely Sora. There was no one else who could have spiky brown hair like that, or big blue eyes like his. Sora was staring at him. His hands were tied behind him and he was naked as well, but Roxas wasn't even fazed by that. Next to him was his cousin, Squall, or Leon as he preferred to go by. He looked worse than his cousin. Roxas could see that a lot of pieces of his skin were missing on his legs, like someone had skinned him. "Roxas," Leon said. The demon holding him pushed him towards the path Xehanort was walking and the two of them had no choice but to go.

Roxas watched them until they were no longer in sight and sighed to himself. Now he knew no one was going to be able to save him. He knew Xehanort would probably kill them so they couldn't save him themselves or tell anybody else where he was.

He was going to die a slow and rather painful death…

* * *

><p>Alright! Finally got this chapter out! Sorry again for taking a long time. Been distracted by playing Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. I have to admit that it's pretty good. I was satisfied with the storyline and ending. I think it's a good way for the trilogy to end. If you played the game, what are your thoughts on it?<p>

Updates will be a little faster this time, I swear! Next chapter is halfway written and hopefully I can get it up within two weeks. I do have two other stories I'm working on also, so if you're a fan of Supernatural check out my story A Heart for the Hunter. Or if you're a Yugioh fan, check out Dragon Soul: The Dragon King.

So…that's it. Next chapter coming up soon!

By the way, forgive if there are any mistakes made. I will fix it soon, I'm just too tired right now. XD


	12. Chapter 12

Leon could tell by the time they got to the entrance of the cave that no one was there. Was everyone alright? Were they still alive? He was shocked to find out that Roxas was still alive, but now he was probably dead. His legs were still throbbing from Xehanort's torture and the bottom of his feet was aching from walking along the rough ground. He knew he and Sora were in no condition to try and run away or fight their way out.

Xehanort forced to walk further into the cave, walking on the hard rocky path even making Sora yelp in pain when a sharp rock pierced his foot. But the old man wasn't in a patient mood and had one of his demons carry the boy the rest of the way. Once they reached the door to go even further, Xehanort looked at them. "How do we get in?"

The older mermaid refused to say anything and Sora didn't say anything, looking at Leon then back at Xehanort when he approached them. "We're not telling you anything," Leon told him.

"Oh, you will," Xehanort said, pulling out his weapon and held it against Sora's throat. "Unless you want him to die."

Sora shook his head. "Don't say anything, Leon."

Leon and Xehanort glared at each other in challenge. He knew his cousin was in danger, but at the same time what would happen if Xehanort's plan succeeded. The old man had claimed that he wanted to keep Sora for gods know what. That scared him more than death. "I thought you planned on keeping him? It wouldn't do you much good if you hurt him."

"I have other ways to bother you by not hurting him. If anything, you'll wish I was hurting him instead," Xehanort stated, walking to Sora. He caressed the boy's cheek with his finger. "He is beautiful, isn't he? Was he meant to be mated with one of those female mermaids?"

Sora shuddered and tried to pull away from his touch but the demons holding him kept him from moving away. "You're sick."

"I had originally intended for Roxas to be my…slave once I succeeded, but then I saw you and realized that he was just too much trouble. Not to mention that this insect-" He nodded to Axel. "-defiled him."

Axel merely smirked in victory. "And boy was he worth every second of it despite you being a voyeur. Glad I ruined that plan."

"And you will join in him in death all in due time, Axel," Xehanort growled.

The redhead grinned and managed to flip him off. "Roxy isn't dead. I'm going to find a way to get free and I'm going to get him." In truth, he was scared that Roxas might be dead. He had already looked so weak when Axel last saw him. And now with the sun out…he knew Roxas was in even greater danger of dying.

Xehanort just stared at him for a few seconds then turned his attention to Sora and Leon. "So, are you going to tell me how to get in? I would hate to defile this boy's body in front of you," he told Leon.

Leon managed to keep calm, but on the inside he was thinking of a way to get them out. "Leave him alone."

"Then tell me how to get in," Xehanort ordered. "And I won't defile him in front of you."

Sora shook his head again. "Don't, Leon."

The older mermaid grimaced and sent a silent prayer that Angeal and the others would make it in time before Xehanort used the fountain. He began chanting something in another language, ignoring everything around him even when Xehanort held his weapon at his throat. After he was done chanting, the door to go further into the cave where the Fountain of Youth awaited. "There, you got what you wanted," he snapped.

"Thank you," Xehanort said politely. He nodded to his demons and they continued to walk. The demon holding Sora kept him from moving too much though the boy did struggle a bit to get free.

They continued walking further into the cave and Axel was starting to get a little worried on how he was going to get free to go save Roxas. As far as he could see, there was only one way in and one way out. But he had to hurry up and think of something. With the sun out, Roxas was surely going to die if he didn't save him soon. All he could think about was the three weeks they had spent together in Xehanort's home, talking to each other and slowly getting to know one another then how they made love that one time…Axel didn't know if he would call it love just yet, but he knew he cared a great deal about the blonde mermaid. How those blue eyes would spark whenever Axel did something piss him off, or how he looked so much younger and innocent when he slept. He looked at the two mermaids that were held captive as well. As much as he wanted to be able to help them, he knew that if he did find a way out. It would be too much trouble to try and save them. He hoped that Riku and the others would get here soon enough. Though he felt sick from just hearing Xehanort saying that he intended to keep Sora and how he originally intended to keep Roxas. That alone made him want to kill the old man.

But first thing's first, he had to get free then go save Roxas. Killing Xehanort could wait.

* * *

><p>He didn't know how long he'd been here. It felt like he'd been forever.<p>

Roxas continued to look at a small flower that was nearby, wondering if his friends and Axel were still alive. Had they reached the Fountain of Youth yet? Did they manage to get free and run away from him? Who else was here?

He could already feel his body weakening from the sun beaming down on him. It would be a matter of time before he felt sleepy then…die. He was already feeling sleepy, but he fought to keep awake. A part of him was still hoping that Axel would comeback for him. But deep down…he knew he wouldn't make it long enough to see the redhead again. His heartbeat was starting to slow down even more and at this rate, he knew he was going to be dead soon.

"Please…please don't forget me, Axel…," he whispered, closing his eyes and took one last deep breath.

* * *

><p>Sorry for taking long! My internet was off a few days after I posted the last chapter and has been off since. Luckily for me, I have wifi on my phone, but it's very shifty. Sometimes it'll work and then other times it won't. That and plus editing took some time not to mention I was working on my Yugioh story.<p>

Sorry this chapter was short, but next chapter will be longer and focus on Angeal and Zack, and Cloud's group getting to the Fountain of Youth.


	13. Quick Update!

**Update**

Hello darlings!

Just here to give a quick update. So I had to restore my hard drive to my laptop and it erased EVERYTHING!

Yes, EVERYTHING.

Sad right?

BUT!

Fear not! Luckily(somewhat luckily), I wrote down about one-third of the chapter in my notebook so at least I got that much done! However, updating the story itself might take me until next week. So again, I ask that you please patient with me. I know it's taken me MONTHS to update, but please know that I am trying.

Please DON'T review this since I will delete it once I'm ready to update. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, etc. please send me a PM.

Thank you so much for the support!

-vIoLeT bUtTeRfLy 90


End file.
